THE  WRITINGS  OF  JOHN  MUIR 

&ierra  <£dition 
VOLUME  VII 


BY 

JOHN  MUIR 


42808 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

1918 


COPYRIGHT,    1917,   BY   HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION       .      .      *      .      .      .      .  ix 

I.  UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS         .      .      .  3 

II.  AMONG  THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA       .  19 

III.  SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES      .      .      .      »      .  32 

IV.  IN  PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK      ....  47 
V.  A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 56 

VI.  ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS      .      .      .  .  .    67 

VII.  AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL  .  .    78 

VIII.  RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY  ...    93 

IX.  VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD    .      ...    ,  .  .  109 

X.  GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA    .  .  .  123 

XI.  CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR      .  .  .138 

XII.  ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE  POLAR  PACK  .  .  151 

XIII.  FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD  ISLAND  .  .  163 

XIV.  APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND  .  .172 
XV.  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR  .  .  184 

XVI.  TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET  .      .  200 

XVII.  MEETING  THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION  214 

XVIII.  A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD        .      .      .  223 

XIX.  TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE    .      .  236 

XX.  HOMEWARD-BOUND 244 

APPENDIX 

I.  THE  GLACIATION  OF  THE  ARCTIC  AND  SUB 
ARCTIC   REGIONS  VISITED  DURING  THE 

CRUISE 255 

II.  BOTANICAL  NOTES 281 

INDEX  .  297 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  CORWIN   .  .      .      .      .      .      .      .      Frontispiece 

The  small  steamer  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  Treasury  Department  in  which  Mr.  Muir 
made  his  memorable  cruise  in  1881. 
From  a  painting  by  G.  F.  Denny 

A  CHUKCHI  VILLAGE  AT  PLOVER  BAY,  SIBERIA    .      .    32 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 
WEST  DIOMEDE  VILLAGE    ...      .      .  •     .      .      .38 

AN  ARCTIC  MORNING          .      .      ...      .      .48 

From  a  photograph  taken  off  Cape  Serdzekamen,  Sibe 
ria,  by  Dr.  William  J.  Hamilton 

KING  ISLAND 132 

From  a  photograph  by  Dr.  William  J.  Hamilton 
HERALD  ISLAND     .      .     t.      .      .-..<•.      .  164 
FIRST  LANDING  ON  WRANGELL  LAND     ....  186 

THE  AMERICAN  FLAG  ON  WRANGELL  LAND,  NEAR 
EAST  CAPE         ....      .      .      .      .      .      .  190 

MAP  OF  WRANGELL  LAND,  AS  SURVEYED  BY  THE 
OFFICERS  OF  THE  U.S.S.  RODGERS,  LIEUT.  R.  M. 
BERRY,  COMMANDING,  SEPTEMBER,  1881         .      .  194 
From  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1881 

ESKIMO  VILLAGE  OF  KOKMULIT,  POINT  BARROW     .  206 

A  CHUKCHI  SUMMER  HOUSE     ......  228 

From  a  photograph  by  E.  S.  Curtis 

ONE  OF  THE  MOUTHS  OF  THE  FAIRWEATHER  ICE- 
SHEET  IN  GLACIER  BAY  .      .      .  258 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

KING  ISLAND         262 

GEANITE  ROCKS  ON  THE  SOUTH  SIDE  OF  ST. 
LAWRENCE  ISLAND,  SHOWING  EFFECTS  OF  OVER- 
SWEEPING  ACTION  OF  ICE-SHEET  ....  262 

VOLCANIC  CONES  ON  ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND      .      .  268 

BED  OF  SMALL  RESIDUAL  GLACIER  ON  ST.  LAW 
RENCE  ISLAND 268 

HERALD  ISLAND 268 

WEST  DIOMEDE  ISLAND  (FROM  THE  NORTH)       .      .  270 
EAST  CAPE  (FROM  THE  SOUTH) 270 

OVERSWEPT  GLACIAL  VALLEYS  AND  RIDGES  ON 
ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND 272 

BED  OF  LOCAL  GLACIER,  ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND      .  272 

NEAR  THE  SOUTHWEST  EXTREMITY  OF  ST.  LAW 
RENCE  ISLAND,  ILLUSTRATING  EFFECTS  OF  ICE- 
SHEET 276 

OVERSWEPT  MOUNTAINS,  WITH  PARALLEL  VALLEYS 
AND  RIDGES,  FROM  TWENTY  MILES  NORTHWEST 
OF  EAST  CAPE 276 

Except  as  otherwise  indicated  the  illustrations 
are  from  sketches  by  Mr.  Muir,  the  last  twelve  be 
ing  reproduced  from  the  cuts  in  Captain  Hooper's 
official  Report  of  the  expedition. 


INTRODUCTION 

ONE  of  the  poignant  tragedies  of  north  polar 
exploration,  that  of  the  Jeannette,  still  lingers 
in  the  memory  of  persons  now  living,  though  a 
generation  has  since  passed  away.  John  Muir, 
who  joined  the  first  search  expedition  dis 
patched  from  San  Francisco,  had  already 
achieved  distinction  by  his  glacial  studies  in 
the  Sierra  Nevada  and  in  Alaska.  The  Corwin 
expedition  afforded  him  a  coveted  opportunity 
to  cruise  among  the  islands  of  Bering  Sea  and 
the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  to  visit  the  frost-bitten 
shores  of  northeastern  Siberia  and  northwest 
ern  Alaska.  So  enticing  was  the  lure  of  this 
new  adventure,  so  eager  was  he  to  study  the 
evidence  of  glaciation  in  the  Far  North,  that 
he  said  a  reluctant  good-bye  to  his  young  wife 
and  fared  forth  upon  the  deep.  "You  remem 
ber,"  he  wrote  to  her  from  the  Siberian  coast, 
"that  I  told  you  long  ago  how  eager  I  was  to 
get  upon  those  islands  in  the  middle  of  the 
Bering  Sea  and  Strait  to  read  the  ice  record 
there." 

The  events  which  led  up  to  this  memorable 
cruise  of  the  Corwin  in  1881  had  their  origin 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 

in  the  widespread  interest  which  north  polar 
exploration  was  exciting  at  this  time  all  over 
the  world.  In  1877  Lieutenant  George  W.  De 
Long,  an  American  naval  officer,  was  search 
ing  among  the  northern  ports  of  England  for  a 
whaling  vessel  adapted  to  the  requirements  of 
Arctic  exploration.  De  Long  had  commanded 
the  Juniata  which  was  sent  out  for  the  relief 
of  the  Polaris,  and  through  this  experience 
had  grown  enthusiastic  over  his  own  plans  for 
reaching  the  North  Pole. 

The  whaling  industry  was  at  that  time  a 
very  profitable  one,  and  few  owners  of  whalers 
and  sealers  were  willing  to  part  with  their  ves 
sels.  Though  Sir  Allen  Young's  steam  yacht 
Pandora,  which  De  Long  finally  selected,  had 
already  made  two  Arctic  voyages,  she  appears 
to  have  been  chosen  more  because  she  was 
available  than  because  of  her  superior  fitness 
for  ice  navigation.  In  any  case  she  was  pur 
chased  by  James  Gordon  Bennett,  patron  of 
the  proposed  expedition,  was  fitted  out  at 
Deptford,  England,  and  re-named  the  Jean- 
nette.  Though  the  new  name  evaded  the  sug 
gestion  of  a  box  of  evils,  she  proved  to  be  one 
for  those  who  sailed  in  her.  Commander  De 
Long  himself  brought  her  around  Cape  Horn 
to  San  Francisco.  In  the  month  of  July,  1879, 
she  sailed  from  that  port  for  Bering  Strait  and 


INTRODUCTION 

the  Arctic  Ocean  —  never  to  return.  Crushed 
in  the  ice,  she  sank,  June  12, 1881,  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north  of 
the  New  Siberian  Islands. 

The  retreat  southward  across  the  ice-floes 
was  one  of  great  peril.  Only  thirteen  out  of 
thirty-four  men  ultimately  reached  civilization 
and  safety.  De  Long  himself,  and  ten  of  the 
men  with  him,  died  of  starvation  and  exposure 
on  the  delta  of  the  Lena  River,  where  two  of 
the  Jeannette's  storm-beaten  cutters  landed  in 
the  middle  of  September,  1881.  One  of  them, 
commanded  by  Chief  Engineer  Melville, 
reached  a  Russian  village  on  one  of  the  east 
ern  mouths  of  the  Lena  River.  He  promptly 
organized  a  search  party,  recovering  the  ship's 
records  in  November,  1881,  and  the  bodies  of 
his  unfortunate  shipmates  the  following  spring. 

When  the  North  Pacific  whaling  fleet  re 
turned  from  Arctic  waters  in  the  autumn  of 
1879,  two  ships,  the  Mount  Wollaston  and  the 
Vigilant,  were  reported  missing.  They  had 
been  last  seen  in  October  in  the  same  general 
region,  near  Herald  Island,  where  the  Jeannette 
had  entered  the  polar  ice.  The  Mount  Wollas 
ton  was  commanded  by  Captain  Nye,  of  New 
Bedford,  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  keenest  and 
bravest  men  that  ever  sailed  the  frigid  seas. 
He  it  was  who  at  a  conference  of  whaling  cap- 


INTRODUCTION 

tains,  called  by  De  Long  in  San  Francisco 
before  the  departure  of  his  expedition,  hesitated 
to  give  an  opinion  on  the  practicability  of  De 
Long's  plans.  But  when  urged  for  an  expression 
of  his  views,  he  said,  "Put  her  [the  Jeannette] 
into  the  ice  and  let  her  drift,  and  you  may  get 
through,  or  you  may  go  to  the  devil,  and  the 
chances  are  about  equal." 

In  the  service  of  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department  there  was  at  this  time  a  stanch 
little  steamer  called  the  Corwin.  Built  at 
Abina,  Oregon,  she  was  constructed  through 
out  of  the  finest  Oregon  fir,  fastened  with  cop 
per,  galvanized  iron,  and  locust-tree  nails.  She 
had  a  draught  of  nearly  eleven  feet,  twenty- 
four  feet  beam,  and  was  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  feet  long  between  perpendiculars. 
The  ordinary  duties  of  the  captain  of  such  a 
revenue  steamer  involved  primarily  the  en 
forcement  of  federal  laws  for  the  protection  of 
governmental  interests  on  the  Fur  Seal  Islands 
and  the  sea-otter  hunting  grounds  of  Alaska. 
But  the  supposed  plight  of  the  Jeannette  and 
the  unknown  fate  of  two  whalers  caught  in  the 
ice  were  soon  to  increase  the  Corwin's  duties, 
and  call  her  into  regions  where  her  sturdy 
sailing  qualities  were  to  prove  of  the  utmost 
importance. 

In  the  spring  of   1880  the  Corwin,  in  com- 


INTRODUCTION 

mand  of  Captain  Calvin  L.  Hooper,  was 
ordered  into  North  Alaskan  waters  in  pur 
suance  of  her  regular  duties.  But  Captain 
Hooper  had  also  been  directed  to  make  all 
possible  inquiries  for  the  missing  whalers  and 
the  Jeannette.  He  returned  with  no  tidings  of 
the  lost,  but  with  reports  of  starvation  and 
death  among  the  Eskimos  of  St.  Lawrence 
Island  on  account  of  an  uncommonly  severe 
and  stormy  winter  in  the  Arctic  regions.  He 
entertained  no  hope  for  the  lost  whalers,  but 
thought  De  Long  and  his  party  might  be  safe. 
A  general  demand  for  relief  expeditions  now 
arose.  Petitions  poured  into  Congress,  and  the 
American  Geographical  Society  addressed  a 
forcible  appeal  to  President  Garfield.  When 
the  Corwin  was  sent  to  Alaskan  waters  again 
in  1881  it  was  with  the  following  specific 
instructions  to  Captain  Hooper :  — 

No  information  having  been  received  concerning 
the  whalers  Mount  Wollaston  and  Vigilant,  you  will 
bear  in  mind  the  instructions  for  your  cruise  of  last 
year,  and  it  is  hoped  you  may  bring  back  some  tid 
ings  of  the  missing  vessels.  You  will  also  make  care 
ful  inquiries  in  the  Arctic  regarding  the  progress  and 
whereabouts  of  the  steamer  Jeannette,  engaged  in 
making  explorations  under  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Commander  De  Long,  U.S.N.,  and  will,  if  practi 
cable,  communicate  with  and  extend  any  needed 
assistance  to  that  vessel.  .  .  .  You  will  in  your  sea- 


INTRODUCTION 

son's  cruise  touch  at  such  places  as  may  be  practi 
cable  on  the  mainland  or  islands  where  there  are 
settlements  of  natives,  and  examine  into  and  report 
upon  their  condition. 

A  letter  written  to  his  mother  from  Dutch 
Harbor,  Unalaska,  gives  Muir's  own  account 
of  his  purpose  in  joining  the  expedition. 

I  wrote  you  from  San  Francisco  [he  says]  that  I 
had  suddenly  made  up  my  mind  to  avail  myself  of 
the  opportunity  offered  to  visit  the  Arctic  region  on 
the  steamer  Thomas  Corwin  sent  to  seek  the  Jean- 
nette  and  the  missing  whalers  that  were  lost  in  the 
ice  two  years  ago  off  Point  Barrow.  .  .  . 

I  have  been  interested  for  a  long  time  in  the  glaci- 
ation  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  I  felt  that  I  must 
make  a  trip  of  this  sort  to  the  Far  North  some  time, 
and  no  better  chance  could  in  any  probability  offer. 
I  am  acquainted  with  our  captain,  and  have  every 
comfort  the  ship  can  afford,  and  every  facility  to 
pursue  my  studies. 

We  mean  to  proceed  from  here  past  the  seal 
islands  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  then  northward 
along  the  Siberian  coast  to  about  Cape  Serdze, 
where  a  sledge  party  with  dogs  will  be  sent  out  to 
search  the  North  Siberian  coast,  while  the  steamer 
the  meanwhile  will  cross  to  the  American  shore  and 
call  at  St.  Michael,  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  other 
places,  [where  we  shall  have  the  opportunity  of] 
making  short  journeys  inland.  Then,  as  the  ice 
melts  and  breaks  up,  we  will  probably  push  east 
ward  around  Point  Barrow,  then  return  to  the 
Siberian  side  to  pick  up  our  land  party,  then  en- 


INTRODUCTION 

deavor  to  push  through  the  ice  to  the  mysterious 
unexplored  Wrangell  Land.  We  hope  to  return  to 
San  Francisco  by  October  or  November,  but  may 
possibly  be  compelled  to  winter  in  the  Arctic  some 
where. 

De  Long,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  had  written 
that  his  plan  was  to  proceed  north  by  the  eastern 
coast  of  Wrangell  Land,  touching  first  at  Herald 
Island  to  build  a  cairn  and  leave  news  of  the 
Jeannette's  progress.  Believing  that  Wrangell 
Land  extended  northward  toward  the  Pole, 
he  proposed  to  leave  similar  records  along 
its  eastern  coast,  under  cairns,  at  intervals  of 
twenty-five  miles.  These  known  intentions  of 
De  Long  show  why  it  was  one  of  the  fore 
most  objects  of  the  Corwin  expedition  to  reach 
what  Muir  called  "the  mysterious  unex 
plored  Wrangell  Land." 

How  keenly  Muir  appreciated  the  possibili 
ties  of  science  and  adventure  in  the  exploration 
of  this  unknown  Arctic  land  may  be  seen  in 
the  fourteenth  chapter  of  this  volume.  Up  to 
this  time  nothing  was  actually  known  about 
Wrangell  Land  except  its  existence.  The  first 
European  who  reported  its  discovery  was 
Captain  Kellett  of  H.M.S.  Herald.  He  saw  it 
in  1849  when  he  discovered  Herald  Island, 
which  was  named  after  his  vessel.  By  right 
of  discovery  Kellett's  name  should  have  been 

XV 


INTRODUCTION 

given  to  Wrangell  Land,  and  upon  British 
Admiralty  charts  it  was  very  properly  indicated 
as"KellettLand." 

The  name  Wrangell  Land,  it  seems,  became 
associated  with  the  island  through  a  report  of 
Captain  Thomas  Long,  of  the  whaling  bark 
Nile.  In  1867  he  reported  that  he  had 

sailed  to  the  eastward  along  the  land  during  the 
fifteenth  and  part  of  the  sixteenth  [of  August],  and 
in  some  places  approached  it  as  near  as  fifteen  miles. 
I  have  named  this  northern  land  Wrangell  Land  [he 
says]  as  an  appropriate  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a 
man  who  spent  three  consecutive  years  north  of 
latitude  68°,  and  demonstrated  the  problem  of  this 
open  polar  sea  forty-five  years  ago,  although  others 
of  much  later  date  have  endeavored  to  claim  the 
merit  of  this  discovery.  The  west  cape  of  this  land 
I  have  named  Cape  Thomas,  after  the  man  who 
first  reported  the  land  from  the  masthead  of  my 
ship,  and  the  southeastern  cape  I  have  named  after 
the  largest  island  in  this  group  [Hawaii].1 

Captain  Long  apparently  was  unaware  of 
the  fact  that  the  island  already  bore  the  name 
of  Kellett  by  right  of  discovery  eighteen  years 
earlier.  But  since  Baron  Wrangell  had  made 
such  a  brave  and  determined  search  for  this 
"problematical  land  of  the  North,"  as  he  re- 

1  Quoted  from  a  letter  by  Captain  Long  published  in  the 
Honolulu  Commercial  Advertiser,  November,  1867.  The  same 
paper  contains  a  letter  from  Captain  George  W.  Raynor,  of 
the  ship  Reindeer,  giving  additional  geographic  details. 

xvi 


INTRODUCTION 

ferred  to  it  in  his  final  report,  there  is  a  certain 
poetic  justice  in  applying  his  name  to  what  he 
only  sought,  but  never  found. 

While  Captain  Hooper,  in  his  report  of  1880, 
had  expressed  the  conviction  that  Wrangell 
Land  was  an  island,  the  first  demonstration  of 
its  insularity  was  made  by  Commander  De 
Long,  who  had  practically  staked  the  success 
of  his  expedition  on  the  belief  that  it  was  a 
country  of  large  extent  northward,  and  suit 
able  for  winter  quarters.  But  before  his  vessel 
was  crushed  hi  the  ice  it  drifted,  within  sight 
of  Wrangell  Land,  directly  across  the  merid 
ians  between  which  it  lies.  This  fatal  drift  of 
the  Jeannette  not  only  furnished  conclusive 
disproof  of  the  theory  that  Wrangell  Land 
might  be  part  of  a  continent  stretching  across 
the  north  polar  regions,  but  proved  it  to  be  an 
island  of  limited  extent.  It  is  an  inaccuracy, 
therefore,  when  the  United  States  Hydrog- 
rapher's  report  for  1882  sets  the  establishment 
of  this  fact  down  to  the  credit  of  the  Rodgers 
expedition. 

So  far  as  known,  the  first  human  beings  that 
ever  stood  upon  the  shores  of  this  island  were 
in  Captain  Hooper's  landing  party,  August  12, 
1881,  and  John  Muir  was  of  the  number.  The 
earliest  news  of  the  event,  and  of  the  fact  that 
De  Long  had  not  succeeded  in  touching  either 

xvii 


INTRODUCTION 

Herald  Island  or  Wrangell  Land,  reached  the 
world  at  large  in  a  letter  from  Muir  published 
in  the  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulletin,  Sep 
tember  29,  1881.  But  the  complete  record  of 
Muir's  observations,  together  with  some  of  the 
sketches  contained  in  his  journals,  is  now  given 
to  the  public  for  the  first  time. 

A  second  Jeannette  relief  expedition,  already 
mentioned  as  that  of  the  Rodgers,  was  sent 
out  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  It  succeeded  in  reaching  Wrangell 
Land  two  weeks  after  the  Corwin.  In  order  to 
make  our  geographical  and  scientific  knowl 
edge  of  this  remote  island  as  complete  in  this 
volume  as  possible,  we  deem  it  desirable  to 
include  a  brief  account  of  what  was  achieved 
during  the  cruise  of  the  Rodgers. 

This  vessel,  a  stout  and  comparatively  new 
whaler,  known  before  its  re-baptism  as  the 
Mary  and  Helen,  was  placed  in  command  of 
Lieutenant,  now  Rear  Admiral,  Robert  M. 
Berry.  He  discovered  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Wrangell  Land  a  snug  little  harbor  where  he 
kept  the  Rodgers  at  anchor  for  nineteen  days 
while  two  search  parties,  in  whaleboats,  going 
in  opposite  directions,  explored  the  coast  for 
possible  survivors  of  the  missing  whalers  and 
for  cairns  left  by  the  crew  of  the  Jeannette. 
These  search  parties  nearly  circumnavigated 

xviii 


INTRODUCTION 

the  island  without  finding  anything  except 
Captain  Hooper's  cairn,  and  Commander 
Berry,  in  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  said,  "I  believe  it  impossible  that  any 
of  the  missing  parties  ever  landed  here." 

The  principal  gain  of  this  exploration  was  a 
running  survey  of  the  coast  and  a  general  deter 
mination  of  the  size  of  the  island.  In  other 
respects  the  harvest  of  scientific  facts  gathered 
on  Wrangell  Land  by  the  Rodgers  was  meager, 
if  one  may  judge  by  W.  H.  Gilder's  Ice  Pack 
and  Tundra.  Unfortunately,  the  act  which 
carried  the  appropriation  for  the  expedition 
provided  that  the  vessel  selected  "be  wholly 
manned  by  volunteers  from  the  Navy."  This 
fact  seems  to  have  prevented  the  taking  of  men 
trained  hi  the  natural  sciences,  like  John  Muir 
or  E.  W.  Nelson.  Nineteen  days  on  Wrangell 
Land  would  have  enabled  them  to  obtain  a 
large  amount  of  interesting  information  about 
its  flora,  fauna,  avifauna,  and  geology. 

Commander  Berry,  taking  charge  of  an 
exploring  party,  penetrated  twenty  miles  into 
the  interior  of  the  island  and  ascended  a  con 
spicuous  mountain  whose  height,  by  baromet 
ric  measurement,  was  found  to  be  twenty-five 
hundred  feet.  He  reported  that  he  "could  see 
from  its  summit  the  sea  in  all  directions,  except 
between  S.S.W.  by  W.  per  compass.  The  day 


INTRODUCTION 

was  very  clear,  and  no  land  except  Herald 
Island  was  visible  from  this  height.  There  was 
no  ice  in  sight  to  the  southward."  A  letter  of 
inquiry  addressed  to  Rear  Admiral  Berry  by 
the  editor  brought  a  courteous  reply,  stating 
that  he  did  not  know  of  any  photographs  or 
sketches,  made  by  members  of  the  Rodgers 
expedition,  which  would  show  the  coast  or 
interior  topography  of  the  island;  that  "the 
vegetation  was  scant,  consisting  of  a  few 
Arctic  plants,  a  little  moss,  etc.";  that  "polar 
bears,  walrus,  and  seal  were  quite  common 
upon  or  near  the  island,"  and  that  the  provi 
sional  map  which  accompanied  his  report  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  1881  is  the  only 
one  available. 

From  our  reproduction  of  this  map,  and 
from  the  report  of  the  Rodgers,  it  will  be  seen 
that  practically  the  whole  interior  of  the  island 
still  awaits  exploration.  Estimates  of  its  size 
vary  between  twenty-eight  and  forty  miles  as 
to  width,  and  between  sixty-five  and  seventy- 
five  as  to  length.  Striking  an  average,  one 
might  say  that  it  contains  about  twenty-five 
hundred  square  miles  of  territory.  The  dis 
tance  across  Long  Strait  from  the  nearest 
point  on  the  Siberian  coast  is  about  eighty-five 
or  ninety  miles,  and  Herald  Island  lies  about 
thirty  miles  east  of  Wrangell  Land. 


INTRODUCTION 

In  1914  the  Karluk,  Steffansson's  flagship  of 
the  Canadian  Arctic  Expedition,  was  crushed 
in  the  ice,  and  sank  not  far  from  the  place 
where  the  Jeannette  was  lost.  Under  fohe  able 
leadership  of  Captain  Robert  A.  Bartlett  the 
members  of  the  expedition  made  their  way  to 
Wrangell  Land,  where  they  remained  encamped 
while  Captain  Bartlett,  with  an  Eskimo, 
crossed  Long's  Strait  to  Siberia  over  the  ice. 
Thence  he  made  his  way  to  St.  Michael, 
Alaska,  and  enlisted  aid  for  the  Karluk  sur 
vivors.  Their  rescue  was  effected  successfully, 
and,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  discover,  these 
members  of  the  Canadian  Arctic  Expedition 
are  the  only  human  beings  that  have  been  on 
Wrangell  Land  since  the  visit  of  the  Corwin 
and  the  Rodgers  in  1881. 

We  venture  to  mention,  in  this  connection, 
a  few  facts  which  call  for  consideration  in  the 
interest  of  a  historical  and  consistent  geo 
graphical  nomenclature.  The  United  States 
Geographic  Board  has  done  much  to  bring 
order  out  of  the  chaos  of  Alaskan  names,  and 
its  decisions  are  available  in  Baker's  Geographic 
Dictionary  of  Alaska,  which  has  been  followed 
in  the  editing  of  this  volume.  There  is  a 
"Wrangell  Island"  in  southeastern  Alaska, 
well  known  to  readers  of  Muir's  Travels  in 
Alaska,  hence  it  Occasions  needless  confusion 


INTRODUCTION 

to  call  Wrangell  Land  by  the  same  name,  as 
even  recent  Hydrographic  Office  charts  con 
tinue  to  do,  besides  misspelling  the  name.  The 
retention  of  the  term  "land"  for  an  island  is 
supported  by  abundant  precedent,  especially 
in  the  Arctic  regions. 

The  altitude  of  the  mountain  ascended  by 
Commander  Berry  had  already  been  deter 
mined  with  remarkable  accuracy  by  Captain 
Long  in  1867.  He  described  it  as  having  "the 
appearance  of  an  extinct  volcano,"  and  it  is 
shown  on  his  sketch  of  Wrangell  Land,  re 
produced  on  the  map  accompanying  Nourse's 
American  Explorations  in  the  Ice  Zones.  Cap 
tain  Hooper,  hi  his  report  of  the  cruise  of  the 
Corwin,  declares  that  the  peak  had  been  appro 
priately  named  for  Long,  and  adds,  "Singular 
as  it  may  appear,  this  name  to  which  Captain 
Long  was  justly  entitled  has,  notwithstanding 
our  pretended  custom  of  adhering  to  original 
names,  been  set  aside  on  a  recent  issue  of 
American  charts."  It  is  some  compensation, 
however,  that  the  wide  stretch  of  water  be 
tween  the  North  Siberian  coast  and  Wrangell 
Land  is  now  known  as  Long  Strait. 

Captain  Hooper  and  his  party,  being  the 

first  to  set  foot  upon  Wrangell  Land,  exercised 

the  privilege  of  taking  possession  of  it  in  the 

name  of  the  United  States.   In  order  to  avoid 

xxii 


INTRODUCTION 

the  confusion  of  the  two  names,  Kellett  and 
Wrangell,  which  it  already  bore,  Captain 
Hooper  named  it  New  Columbia.  This  name, 
which  was  set  aside  by  the  Hydrographic 
Office,  he  says 

was  suggested  by  the  name  which  had  been  given  to 
the  islands  farther  west,  New  Siberia.  It  is  probable 
that  the  name  Wrangell  Land  will  continue  in  use 
upon  American  charts,  but  its  justice,  in  view  of  all 
the  facts,  is  not  so  apparent.  In  my  opinion  the 
adoption  by  us  of  trie  name  Kellett  Land  given  by 
the  English  would  be  appropriate,  and  avoid  the 
confusion  which  is  sure  to  follow  in  consequence  of 
its  having  two  names. 

Headlands  and  other  geographical  features  of  the 
island  were  named  by  us,  but  as  the  names  which 
were  applied  to  features  actually  discovered  by  the 
Corwin  and  heretofore  unnamed  have  been  ignored, 
it  is  possible  that  a  desire  to  do  honor  to  the  memory 
of  Wrangell  is  not  the  only  consideration.  To  avoid 
the  complications  which  would  result  from  dupli 
cating  geographical  names,  I  have  dropped  all  be 
stowed  by  the  Corwin  and  adopted  the  more  recent 
ones  applied  by  the  Hydrographic  Office.  I  have  also 
adopted  the  plan  of  the  island  [from  surveys  of  the 
Rodgers]  as  shown  on  the  small  chart  accompanying 
Hydrographic  Notice  No.  84,  although  the  trend  of 
the  coast  and  the  geographical  position  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river  where  we  first  planted  the  flag  do  not 
agree  with  the  result  of  the  observations  and  tri- 
angulations  made  by  the  Corwin. 

Now  that  Captain  Hooper  and  nearly  all  the 

xxiii 


INTRODUCTION 

men  who  had  a  share  in  these  explorations  of 
the  early  eighties  have  passed  on,  it  is  proper 
that  the  basic  facts  as  well  as  conflicting 
judgments  should  be  set  down  here  for  the 
just  consideration  of  geographers.  Both  from 
Muir's  vivid  narrative  of  the  Corwin's  pene 
tration  to  the  shores  of  Wrangell  Land,  and 
from  Captain  Hooper's  admirable  report  pub 
lished  in  1884  as  Senate  Executive  Document 
No.  204,  the  reader  will  conclude  that  the 
Captain  of  the  Corwin  had  a  better  right  to  be 
remembered  in  connection  with  the  geographi 
cal  features  of  the  island  than  most  of  the  per 
sons  whose  names  have  been  attached  to  them 
by  the  Hydrographic  Office. 

Whether  Wrangell  Land  became  United 
States  territory  when  Hooper  formally  raised 
our  flag  over  it  is  a  question.  The  editor  is 
unable  to  discover  any  treaty  between  Russia 
and  the  United  States  which  would  debar 
possession  by  the  latter.  But  questions  involv 
ing  rights  of  territorial  discovery  have  not,  so 
far  as  we  know,  been  raised  between  the  two 
governments. 

Muir's  opportunity  to  join  the  Corwin  appar 
ently  arose  out  of  his  acquaintanceship  with 
Captain  Hooper,  and  when  the  invitation 
came  he  had  little  time  to  prepare  for  the 
cruise.  A  letter  to  his  wife  affords  a  glimpse  of 

xxiv 


INTRODUCTION 

his  surroundings  and  plans  when  the  Corwin 
was  approaching  Unalaska. 

All  goes  well  on  our  little  ship  [he  writes!  and  not 
all  the  tossing  of  the  waves,  and  the  snow  and  hail 
on  the  deck,  and  being  out  of  sight  of  land  so  long, 
can  make  me  surely  feel  that  I  am  not  now  with 
you  all  as  ever,  so  sudden  was  my  departure,  and  so 
long  have  I  been  accustomed  in  the  old  lonely  life  to 
feel  the  influence  of  loved  ones  as  if  present  in  the 
flesh,  while  yet  far.  .  .  .  There  are  but  three  of  us  in 
the  cabin,  the  Captain,  the  Surgeon,  and  myself, 
and  only  the  same  three  at  table,  so  that  there  is  no 
crowding.  .  .  . 

Should  we  be  successful  in  reaching  Wrangell 
Land  we  would  very  likely  be  compelled  to  winter 
on  it,  exploring  while  the  weather  permitted.  In 
case  we  are  unsuccessful  in  reaching  Wrangell  Land, 
we  may  get  caught  farther  west  and  be  able  to 
reach  it  by  dog-sledges  in  winter  while  the  pack  is 
frozen.  Or  we  may  have  to  winter  on  the  Siberian 
coast,  etc.,  etc.,  according  to  the  many  variable 
known  and  unknown  circumstances  of  the  case.  Of 
course  if  De  Long  is  found  we  will  return  at  once. 
If  not,  a  persistent  effort  will  be  made  to  force  a 
way  to  that  mysterious  ice-girt  Wrangell  Land, 
since  it  was  to  it  that  De  Long  was  directing  his 
efforts  when  last  heard  from.  We  will  be  cautious, 
however,  and  we  hope  to  be  back  to  our  homes  this 
fall.  Do  not  allow  this  outline  of  Captain  Hooper's 
plan  to  get  into  print  at  present. 

From  another  letter  written  the  following 
day  we  quote  this  breezy  bit  of  description :  — 

XXV 


INTRODUCTION 

How  cold  it  is  this  morning!  How  it  blows  and 
snows !  It  is  not ' '  the  wolf's  long  howl  on  Unalaska's 
shore,"  as  Campbell  has  it,  but  the  wind's  long  howl. 
A  more  sustained,  prolonged,  screeching,  raving 
howl  I  never  before  heard.  But  the  little  Corwin 
rides  on  through  it  in  calm  strength,  rising  and 
falling  amid  the  foam-streaked  waves  like  a  loon. 
The  cabin  boy,  Henry,  told  me  this  morning  [May 
16]  early  that  land  was  in  sight.  So  I  got  up  at  six 
o'clock  —  nine  of  your  time  —  and  went  up  into 
the  pilot-house  to  see  it.  Two  jagged  black  masses 
were  visible,  with  hints  of  snow  mountains  back  of 
them,  but  mostly  hidden  beneath  a  snow-storm. 

After  breakfast  we  were  within  two  miles  of  the 
shore.  Huge  snow-peaks,  grandly  ice-sculptured, 
loomed  far  into  the  stormy  sky  for  a  few  moments  in 
tolerably  clear  relief;  then  the  onrush  of  snowflakes, 
sweeping  out  into  the  dark  levels  of  the  sea,  would 
hide  it  all  and  fill  our  eyes,  while  we  puckered  our 
brows  and  tried  to  gaze  into  the  face  of  it  all. 

We  have  to  proceed  in  the  dimness  and  confusion 
of  the  storm  with  great  caution,  stopping  frequently 
to  take  soundings,  so  it  will  probably  be  one  or  two 
o'clock  before  we  reach  the  harbor  of  Unalaska  on 
the  other  side  of  the  island.  I  tried  an  hour  ago  to 
make  a  sketch  of  the  mountains  along  the  shore  for 
you,  to  be  sent  with  this  letter,  but  my  fingers  got 
too  cold  to  hold  the  pencil,  and  the  snow  filled  my 
eyes,  and  so  dimmed  the  outlines  of  the  rocks  that  I 
could  not  trace  them. 

Down  here  in  the  cabin  it  is  warm  and  summer- 
ish,  and  when  the  Captain  and  Doctor  are  on  deck 
.1  have  it  all  to  myself.  ...  I  am  glad  you  thought 
to  send  my  glasses  and  barometer  and  coat.  We 


INTRODUCTION 

will  procure  furs  as  we  proceed  north,  so  as  to  be 
ready  in  case  we  should  be  compelled  to  winter  in 
the  Arctic  regions.  It  is  remarkably  cold  even  here, 
and  dark  and  blue  and  forbidding  every  way, 
though  it  is  fine  weather  for  health. 

I  was  just  thinking  this  morning  of  our  warm 
sunny  home  .  .  .  and  of  the  red  cherries  down  the 
hill,  and  the  hundreds  of  blunt-billed  finches,  every 
one  of  them  with  red  bills  soaked  in  cherry  juice. 
Not  much  fruit  juice  beneath  this  sky! 

During  the  cruise  Muir  kept  a  daily  record 
of  his  experiences  and  observations.  He  also 
wrote  a  series  of  letters  to  the  San  Francisco 
Evening  Bulletin  in  which  he  turned  to  account 
the  contents  of  his  journal.  Comparison  of  the 
letters  with  the  journal  shows  that  his  note 
books  contain  a  large  amount  of  interesting 
literary  and  scientific  material  which  has  not 
been  utilized  in  the  Bulletin  letters.  To  publish 
both  would  involve  too  much  duplication.  It 
has  seemed  best,  therefore,  to  make  the  letters 
the  foundation  of  the  volume  and  to  insert  the 
additional  matter  from  the  journal  wherever 
it  belongs  chronologically  in  the  epistolary 
record.  Most  of  the' letters  have  thus  grown 
far  beyond  their  original  size. 

The  performance  of  this  task  has  often  been 
trying  and  time-consuming,  especially  when  it 
became  the  editor's  duty  to  avoid  repetition, 
or  overlapping,  by  selecting  what  seemed  to 

xxvii 


INTRODUCTION 

be  the  more  comprehensive,  the  more  finished, 
or  the  more  vivid  form  of  statement.  But  this 
method  of  solving  the  difficulty  has  the  advan 
tage,  for  the  reader,  of  unifying  in  the  present 
volume  practically  the  whole  of  Muir's  literary 
and  scientific  work  during  the  cruise  of  the 
Corwin.  Sometimes,  as  in  chapters  eleven  and 
twelve,  all  the  material  is  new  and  has  been 
derived  exclusively  from  the  journal.  The 
style  of  the  latter  may  generally  be  recognized 
by  its  telegraphic  conciseness. 

During  his  studies  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Muir 
had  acquired  skill,  speed,  and  accuracy  in 
sketching  the  features  of  a  landscape.  This 
ability  he  turned  to  good  account  during  the 
cruise  of  the  Corwin,  for  one  of  his  journals  is 
filled  with  a  variety  of  sketches  which  prove 
to  be  remarkably  faithful  pictures  in  cases 
where  it  has  been  possible  to  compare  them 
with  photographs.  In  judging  the  pictorial 
value  of  these  sketches  it  should  be  remem 
bered  that  Muir  employed  them  chiefly  as  an 
auxiliary  descriptive  means  of  recording  his  ob 
servations  for  future  use.  One  of  the  sketches, 
for  instance,  is  an  extensive  panoramic  view 
of  the  southern  coast  of  Wrangell  Land,  evi 
dently  done  as  the  Corwin  cruised  along  the 
coast.  Since  his  numerous  sketches  of  Wrangell 
Land  are  apparently  the  only  ones  in  existence, 


INTRODUCTION 

they  are  of  unique  importance  in  connection 
with  his  account  of  the  Corwin's  landing  on 
the  island.  The  same  considerations  apply  in 
a  measure  to  Herald  Island  whose  precipitous 
cliffs  he  was  the  first  to  scale  as  well  as  to  sketch. 

Since  Muir's  primary  object  in  joining  the 
Corwin  expedition  was  to  look  for  evidence  of 
glaciation  in  the  Arctic  and  subarctic  regions, 
we  have  deemed  it  desirable  to  include  in  this 
volume  the  article  in  which  he  gathered  up 
the  results  of  his  glacial  studies  and  discoveries. 
It  was  published  in  1884,  with  Captain  C.  L. 
Hooper's  report,  as  Senate  Executive  Docu 
ment  No.  204  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress. 

Both  the  Hooper  report  and  the  article  on 
glaciation  were  elaborately  illustrated  from 
Muir's  pencil  sketches,  though  the  fact  that 
they  were  Muir's  is  nowhere  stated.  "The 
'Glacier  Article'  arrived  on  the  sixth,"  wrote 
Captain  Hooper  to  Muir  under  date  of  Febru 
ary  7,  1884,  "'and  was  sent  on  its  way  rejoicing 
the  same  day.  The  Honorable  Secretary  [of 
the  Treasury]  assures  me  that  he  will  see  that 
the  whole  is  printed  without  delay.  Please 
accept  my  thanks  for  the  article,  which  is  very 
interesting.  The  sketches  are  very  fine  and  will 
prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  report.  That 
of  the  large  glacier  from  Mount  Fairweather  is 
particularly  fine." 

xxix 


INTRODUCTION 

The  article  on  glaciation  should  have  been 
published  a  year  earlier,  in  the  same  volume 
with  the  "Botanical  Notes."  But  for  some 
reason  Muir  was  misinformed,  and  an  apolo 
getic  letter  to  him  from  Major  E.  W.  Clark, 
then  Chief  of  the  United  States  Revenue 
Marine,  hints  at  a  petty  intrigue  as  the  cause. 
"I  regret  very  much,"  he  writes,  "that  I  had 
not  myself  corresponded  with  you  regarding 
your  contribution  to  the  Arctic  report.  Your 
article  on  glaciation  would  have  been  exactly 
the  thing  and  would  have  admitted  of  very 
effective  illustration.  I  feel  well  assured  that 
you  were  purposely  misinformed  regarding  the 
report,  and  could  readily  explain  the  reason  to 
you  in  a  personal  interview.  There  has  been 
much  anxious  inquiry  for  your  notes  on  glacia 
tion."  It  was  the  writer  of  this  letter  after 
whom  Captain  Hooper  named  the  river  at 
whose  mouth  the  Corwin  anchored  on  Wrangell 
Land.  This  fact  has  been  recorded  by  Pro 
fessor  Joseph  Everett  Nourse,  U.S.N.,  in  his 
work  American  Explorations  in  the  Ice  Zones. 
He  states  that  through  the  courtesy  of  Major 
Clark  he  had  access  to  the  unpublished  official 
report  of  the  cruise  of  the  Corwin.  Since  the 
river  in  question  appears  without  a  name 
upon  the  chart  of  Wrangell  Land,  we  must  sup 
pose  it  to  be  one  of  the  names  which  Cap- 

XXX 


INTRODUCTION 

tain  Hooper  complains  the  Hydrographic  Office 
ignored.  Besides  the  illustrative  drawings 
which  accompany  Muir's  article  on  glaciation 
in  the  Far  North,  his  note-books  contain  nu 
merous  interesting  sketches  of  geological  and 
topographical  features  of  Arctic  landscapes. 
They  show  with  what  tireless  industry  and 
pains  he  worked  at  his  task.  This  is  the  first 
publication  of  the  general  conclusions  of  his 
Arctic  studies,  supported  in  detail  by  the  rec 
ords  of  his  journal,  and  by  his  sketches.  In  its 
present  form  the  article  follows  a  revised  copy 
found  among  Muir's  papers. 

Muir's  report  on  the  flora  of  Herald  Island 
and  Wrangell  Land  still  remains,  after  thirty- 
six  years,  the  only  one  ever  made  on  the  vege 
tation  of  these  remote  Arctic  regions.  It  has 
seemed  best,  therefore,  to  include  also  his  ar 
ticle  entitled  "Botanical  Notes"  as  an  appen 
dix  to  this  volume.  It  was  first  published  in 
1883  as  a  part  of  Treasury  Department  Docu 
ment  No.  429.  Strangely  enough,  the  letter  of 
transmittal  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
refers  to  it  as  "the  observations  on  glaciation 
in  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Alaska  region 
made  by  John  Muir." 

The  author  never  saw  printer's  proof  after 
he  sent  the  manuscript,  and  the  number  of 
typographical  errors  made  in  the  technical 

xxxi 


INTRODUCTION 

parts  of  his  article  must  have  established  a 
new  record,  for  they  mount  into  hundreds. 
Knowing  that  Muir  had  sent  a  duplicate  set  of 
his  Arctic  plant  collection  to  Dr.  Asa  Gray 
for  final  scientific  determination,  the  editor 
went  to  the  Gray  Herbarium  of  Harvard 
University,  in  order  to  make  the  necessary 
corrections  and  verifications.  Fortunately  the 
writer  found  there  not  only  the  original  plants, 
but  also  Muir's  letters  to  Asa  Gray.  "  I  re 
turned  a  week  ago,"  wrote  Muir  under  date 
of  October  31,  1881,  "from  the  polar  region 
around  Wrangell  Land  and  Herald  Island,  and 
brought  a  few  plants  from  there  which  I  wish 
you  would  name  as  soon  as  convenient,  as  I 
have  to  write  a  report  on  the  flora  for  the  expe 
dition.  I  had  a  fine  icy  time,  and  gathered  a 
lot  of  exceedingly  interesting  facts  concerning 
the  formation  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  and  the  configuration  of  the  shores  of 
Siberia  and  Alaska.  Also  concerning  the  forests 
that  used  to  grow  there,  etc.,  which  I  hope 
some  day  to  discuss  with  you." 

The  editor  has  made  no  attempt  to  reduce 
the  genus  and  species  names  to  modern  syn 
onymy.  As  in  the  case  of  Muir's  A  Thousand- 
Mile  Walk  to  the  Gulf,  it  has  seemed  best  to 
offer  the  original  determinations,  making  the 
necessary  corrections  by  reference  to  the  Index 


INTRODUCTION 

Kewensis,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  ferns,  to 
Christensen's  Index  Filicum.  Since  Muir's  lists 
did  not  follow  any  particular  order  of  classifi 
cation  we  have  adopted  the  order  of  families 
laid  down  in  the  last  edition  of  Gray's  Manual 
of  Botany. 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  fact  that 
Muir  found  on  the  Arctic  shore  of  Alaska,  near 
Cape  Thompson,  a  species  of  Erigeron  new  to 
science.  It  is  an  asteraceous  plant  with  showy, 
daisy-like  flowers  In  reporting  this  find  to 
the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
Asa  Gray  described  it  as  "the  most  interesting 
and  apparently  the  only  new  species  of  an 
extensive  and  truly  valuable  collection  made 
by  Mr.  Muir  in  a  recent  searching  cruise  which 
he  accompanied,  and  which  extended  to 
Wrangell  Island  [Wrangell  Land].  The  plant 
seems  to  have  been  abundant,  for  it  occurs  in 
the  collection  under  three  numbers." 

Gray  promptly  named  it  Erigeron  Muirii  in 
honor  of  its  finder,  thus  redeeming  for  the 
second  time  a  promise  made  ten  years  earlier 
when  he  wrote  to  Muir,  "Pray,  find  a  new 
genus,  or  at  least  a  new  species,  that  I  may 
have  the  satisfaction  of  embalming  your  name, 
not  in  glacier  ice,  but  in  spicy  wild  perfume." 

.    WILLIAM  FREDERIC  BADE. 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY, 
June,  1917. 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 


THE   CRUISE  OF  THE   CORWIN 
CHAPTER  I 

UNALASKA  AND   THE   ALEUTS 

Unalaska,  May  18,  1881. 

THE  Storm  King  of  the  North  is  abroad  to 
day,  working  with  a  fine,  hearty  enthusiasm, 
rolling  a  multitude  of  white  combing  waves 
through  the  rocky,  jagged  straits  between  this 
marvelous  chain  of  islands,  circling  them  about 
with  beaten  foam,  and  heaping  a  lavish  abun 
dance  of  snow  on  their  lofty,  cloud-wrapped 
mountains.  The  deep  bass  of  the  gale,  sound 
ing  on  through  the  rugged,  ice-sculptured  peaks 
and  gorges,  is  delightful  music  to  our  ears,  now 
that  we  are  safely  sheltered  in  a  land-locked 
harbor. 

The  steamer  Thomas  Corwin  safely  arrived 
here  about  noon  to-day,  after  a  prosperous  run 
of  thirteen  days  from  San  Francisco,  intending 
to  take  on  coal  and  additional  supplies  of  every 
kind  for  her  long  cruise  in  the  Arctic  in  search 
of  the  Jeannette  and  the  missing  whalers. 
Nothing  especially  noteworthy  occurred  on  the 
voyage.  The  weather  was  remarkably  cold  for 
3 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

this  season  of  the  year,  the  average  tempera 
ture  for  the  first  day  or  two  being  about  55°  F., 
falling  gradually  to  35°  as  we  approached  Una- 
laska,  accompanied  by  blustering  squalls  of 
snow  and  hail,  suggestive  of  much  higher  lati 
tudes  than  this. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth  we  met  a 
gale  from  the  northeast,  against  which  the 
Corwin  forced  her  way  with  easy  strength,  ris 
ing  and  falling  on  the  foam-streaked  waves  as 
lightly  as  a  duck.  We  first  sighted  land  on  the 
morning  of  the  seventeenth,  near  the  southeast 
extremity  of  Unalaska  Island.  Two  black  out 
standing  masses  of  jagged  lava  were  visible, 
with  the  bases  of  snowy  peaks  back  of  them, 
while  all  the  highlands  were  buried  beneath 
storm-clouds.  After  we  had  approached 
within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  shore,  a  ragged 
opening  in  the  clouds  disclosed  a  closely  packed 
cluster  of  peaks,  laden  with  snow,  looming  far 
into  the  stormy  sky  for  a  few  moments  in 
tolerably  clear  relief,  then  fading  again  hi  the 
gloom  of  the  clouds  and  fresh  squalls  of  blind 
ing  snow  and  hail.  The  fall  of  the  snowflakes 
among  the  dark,  heaving  waves  and  curling 
breakers  was  a  most  impressive  sight. 

Groping  cautiously  along  the  coast,  we  at 
length  entered  the  Akutan  Pass.  A  heavy  flood 
tide  was  setting  through  it  against  the  north- 
4 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

east  gale,  which  raised  a  heavy  sea.  The  waves 
reared  as  if  about  to  fall  backward,  while  the 
wind  tore  off  their  white  curling  tops  and  car 
ried  them  away  in  the  form  of  gray  scud.  Never 
before  have  I  seen  the  sea  in  so  hearty  and 
exhilarating  a  motion.  It  was  all  one  white, 
howling,  rampant,  runaway  mass  of  foam  from 
side  to  side.  We  feared  getting  our  decks 
swept.  Caught,  therefore,  as  we  were  between 
the  tide  and  the  gale,  we  turned  to  seek  shelter 
and  wait  better  tunes. 

We  found  good  anchorage  in  the  lee  of  a  red 
lava  bluff  near  Cook's  Harbor,  a  few  miles  to  the 
westward  of  the  mouth  of  the  Pass.  The  sailors 
got  out  their  cod-lines,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a 
dozen  fine  cod  were  napping  on  the  deck.  They 
proved  to  be  excellent  fish,  eaten  fresh.  But 
whether  they  are  as  good  as  the  renowned  New 
foundland  article  I  cannot  judge,  as  I  never 
have  tasted  fresh  cod.  The  storm  sounding  on 
over  the  mountains  made  fine  music  while  we 
lay  safely  at  anchor,  and  we  enjoyed  it  all  the 
more  because  we  were  in  a  wild,  nameless  place 
that  we  had  ourselves  discovered. 

The  next  morning,  the  gale  having  abated 
somewhat,  we  entered  the  strait.  Wind  and 
tide  were  flowing  in  company,  but  they  were 
against  us,  and  so  strong  was  the  latter  that  we 
could  not  stem  it,  and  were  compelled  to  fall 

5 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

back  until  it  was  near  the  turn.  The  Aleutian 
chain  extends  across  from  continent  to  con 
tinent  like  an  imperfect  dam  between  the  Pa 
cific  and  Bering  Sea,  and  through  the  gaps 
between  the  islands  the  tide  rushes  with  tre 
mendous  speed  and  uproar.  When  the  tide 
was  favorable,  we  weighed  anchor  and  passed 
through  the  strait  and  around  Kalekta  Point 
into  this  magnificent  harbor  1  without  further 
difficulty. 

The  harbor  of  Unalaska  is  excellent,  land 
locked,  and  has  a  good  holding  bottom.  By 
virtue  of  its  geographical  position  it  is  likely  to 
remain  for  a  long  tune  the  business  center  of 
western  Alaska.  The  town 2  is  situated  on  a 
washed  and  outspread  terminal  moraine  at  the 
mouth  of  one  of  the  main  glaciers  that  united 
here  to  excavate  the  harbor.  Just  above  the 
village  there  is  a  glacial  lake  only  a  few  feet 
above  tide,  and  a  considerable  area  of  level 
ground  about  it  where  the  cattle  belonging  to 
the  town  find  abundance  of  fine  grass. 

1  Dutch  Harbor,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Amaknak  Island  in 
Unalaska  Bay. 

2  The  chief  town  of  Unalaska  Island,  the  most  important 
of  the  eastern  Aleutians,  is  Iliuliuk.      It  was  founded   by 
Solovief  during  the  decade  between  1760  and  1770,  and  itg 
Aleut  name,  according  to  one  interpretation,  means   "har 
mony,"  according  to  another,  "  the  curved  beach."      The 
name  Unalaska  is  often  applied  loosely  to  the  town  as  well  as 
the  island. 

6 


TJNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

Early  in  the  forenoon  the  clouds  had  lifted 
and  the  sun  had  come  out,  revealing  a  host  of 
noble  mountains,  grandly  sculptured  and  com 
posed,  and  robed  in  spotless  white,  some  of  the 
highest  adorned  with  streamers  of  mealy  snow 
wavering  in  the  wind  —  a  truly  glorious  spec 
tacle.  To  me  the  features  of  greatest  interest 
in  this  imposing  show  were  the  glacial  adver 
tisements  everywhere  displayed  in  clear,  telling 
characters  —  the  trends  of  the  numerous  inlets 
and  canons  pointing  back  into  the  ancient  ice- 
fountains  among  the  peaks,  the  sculpture  of 
the  peaks  themselves  and  their  general  out 
lines,  and  the  shorn  faces  of  the  cliffs  fronting 
the  sea.  No  clearer  and  more  unmistakable 
glacial  inscriptions  are  to  be  found  upon  any 
portion  of  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

It  seems  to  be  guessed  in  a  general  way  by 
most  observers  who  have  made  brief  visits  to 
this  region  that  all  the  islands  of  the  Aleutian 
chain  are  clearly  volcanic  upheavals,  scarce  at 
all  changed  since  the  period  of  their  emergence 
from  the  sea.  This  is  an  impression  made,  no 
doubt,  by  the  volcanic  character  of  the  rocks 
of  which  they  are  composed,  and  by  the  numer 
ous  extinct  and  active  volcanoes  occurring  here 
and  there  along  the  summits  of  the  highest 
masses.  But  it  is  plain  that  the  amount  of 
7 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWTN 

glacial  denudation  which  these  ancient  lavas 
have  undergone  is  very  great;  so  great  that 
now  every  feature  presented,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  few  recent  craters,  is  glacial. 

The  glaciers,  that  a  short  tune  ago  covered 
all  the  islands,  have  sculptured  the  compara 
tively  featureless  rock  masses  into  separate 
mountain  peaks,  and  perhaps  into  separate 
islands.  Certainly  they  have  done  this  in  some 
cases.  All  the  inlets  or  fiords,  also,  that  I  have 
seen  are  simply  the  channels  of  the  larger  of 
those  old  ice  rivers  that  flowed  into  the  sea 
and  eroded  their  beds  beneath  its  level.  The  size 
and  the  trend  of  every  one  of  these  fiords  corre 
spond  invariably  with  the  size  and  the  trend 
of  the  glacier  basin  at  its  head,  while  not  a 
single  fiord  or  canon  may  be  found  that  does 
not  conduct  back  to  mountain  fountains 
whence  the  eroding  glacier  drew  its  sources. 
The  Alaska  Peninsula,  before  the  coming  on 
of  the  glacial  period,  may  have  comprehended 
the  whole  of  the  Aleutian  chain,  its  present 
condition  being  mostly  due  to  the  down-grind 
ing  action  of  ice.  Frost  and  fire  have  worked 
hand  in  hand  to  produce  the  grand  effects  pre 
sented  in  this  majestic  crescent  of  islands. 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

Unalaska,  May  SI,  1881. 

The  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  and  interesting  to  be  found 
on  the  globe.  It  sweeps  in  a  regular  curve  a 
thousand  miles  long  from  the  end  of  the  Alaska 
Peninsula  towards  Kamchatka  and  nearly 
unites  the  American  and  Asiatic  continents. 
A  very  short  geological  time  ago,  just  before 
.the  coming  on  of  the  glacial  period,  this  con 
nection  of  the  continents  was  probably  com 
plete,  inasmuch  as  the  entire  chain  is  simply  a 
degraded  portion  of  the  North  American  coast 
mountains,  with  its  foothills  and  connecting 
ridges  between  the  summit  peaks  a  few  feet 
under  water.  These  submerged  ridges  form  the 
passes  between  the  islands  as  they  exist  to-day, 
while  it  is  evident  that  this  segregating  degra 
dation  has  been  effected  by  the  majestic  down- 
grinding  glaciers  that  lately  loaded  all  the  chain. 
Only  a  few  wasting  remnants  of  these  glaciers 
are  now  in  existence,  lingering  in  the  highest, 
snowiest  fountains  on  the  largest  of  the  islands. 

The  mountains  are  from  three  thousand  to 
nine  thousand  feet  high,  many  of  them  capped 
with  perpetual  snow,  and  rendered  yet  more 
imposing  by  volcanoes  emitting  smoke  and 
ashes  —  the  feeble  manifestations  of  upbuild 
ing  volcanic  force  that  was  active  long  before 
the  beginning  of  the  great  ice  winter.  To  the 

9 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

traveler  from  the  south,  approaching  any  por 
tion  of  the  chain  during  the  winter  or  spring 
months,  the  view  presented  is  exceedingly 
desolate  and  forbidding.  The  snow  comes  down 
to  the  water's  edge,  the  solid  winter-white 
being  interrupted  only  by  black  outstanding 
bluffs  with  faces  too  sheer  for  snow  to  lie  upon, 
and  by  the  backs  of  clustering  rocks  and  long 
rugged  reefs  beaten  and  overswept  by  heavy 
breakers  rolling  in  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  or 
Bering  Sea,  while  for  ten  or  eleven  months  in 
the  year  all  the  mountains  are  wrapped  in 
gloomy,  ragged  storm-clouds. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  no  lack  of  warm,  eager 
life  even  here.  The  stormy  shores  swarm  with 
fishes  —  cod,  halibut,  herring,  salmon  trout, 
etc. ;  also  with  whales,  seals,  and  many  species 
of  water  birds,  while  the  sea-otter,  the  most 
valuable  of  the  fur-bearing  animals,  finds  its 
favorite  home  about  the  outlying  wave-washed 
reefs.  The  only  land  animals  occurring  in  con 
siderable  numbers  are,  as  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  learn,  three  or  four  species  of  foxes, 
which  are  distributed  from  one  end  of  the  chain 
to  the  other,  with  the  Arctic  grouse,  the  raven, 
snowbirds,  wrens,  and  a  few  finches.  There 
are  no  deer,  wild  sheep,  goats,  bears,  or  wolves, 
though  all  of  these  are  abundant  on  the  main 
land  in  the  same  latitude. 
10 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

In  two  short  excursions  fchat  I  made  to  the 
top  of  a  mountain,  about  two  thousand  feet 
high,  back  of  the  settlement  here,  and  to  a 
grassy  island  in  the  harbor,  I  found  the  snow  in 
some  places  well  tracked  by  foxes  and  grouse, 
and  saw  six  species  of  birds,  mostly  solitary  or 
in  twos  and  threes.  The  vegetation  near  the 
level  of  the  sea  and  on  bare  windswept  ridges, 
up  to  a  height  of  a  thousand  feet  or  more,  is 
remarkably  close  and  luxuriant,  covering  every 
foot  of  the  ground. 

First  there  is  a  dense  plush  of  mosses  and 
lichens  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth.  Out 
of  the  moss  mantle  and  over  it  there  grow  five 
or  six  species  of  good  nutritious  grasses,  the 
tallest  shoulder-high;  also  three  species  of 
vaccinium,  cranberry,  empetrum,  the  delight 
ful  linnsea  in  extensive  patches,  the  beauti 
ful  purple-flowered  bryanthus,  a  pyrola,  two 
species  of  dwarf  willow,  three  of  lycopodium, 
two  saxifrages,  a  lupine,  wild  pea,  archangelica, 
geranium,  anemone,  draba,  bearberry,  and  the 
little  gold-thread  coptis,  besides  two  ferns 
and  a  few  withered  specimens  that  I  could 
not  make  out. 

The  anemone,   draba,   and  bearberry  are 

already  in  bloom;  the  willows  are  beginning  to 

show  the  ends  of  then*  silky  catkins,  and  a 

good  many  green  leaves  are  springing  up  in 

11 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

sheltered  places  near  the  level  of  the  sea.  At  a 
height  of  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  however, 
winter  still  holds  sway,  with  scarce  a  memory 
of  the  rich  and  beautiful  bloom  of  the  summer 
time.  How  beautiful  these  mountains  must  be 
when  all  are  in  bloom,  with  the  bland  summer 
sunshine  on  them,  the  butterflies  and  bees 
among  them,  and  the  deep  glacial  fiords  calm 
and  full  of  reflections!  The  tall  grasses,  with 
their  showy  purple  panicles  in  flower,  waving 
in  the  wind  over  all  the  lower  mountain  slopes, 
with  a  growth  heavy  enough  for  the  scythe, 
must  then  be  a  beautiful  sight,  and  so  must  the 
broad  patches  of  heathworts  with  their  multi 
tude  of  pink  bells,  and  the  tall  lupines  and  ferns 
along  the  banks  of  the  streams. 

There  is  not  a  tree  of  any  kind  on  the  islands 
excepting  a  few  spruces  brought  from  Sitka 
and  planted  by  the  Russians  some  fifty  years 
ago.  They  are  still  alive,  but  have  made  very 
little  growth  —  a  circumstance  no  doubt  due 
to  the  climate.  But  in  what  respect  it  differs 
from  the  climate  of  southeastern  Alaska,  lying 
both  north  and  south  of  this  latitude,  where 
forests  flourish  exuberantly  in  all  kinds  of  ex 
posures,  on  rich  alluvium  or  on  bare  rocks, 
I  am  unable  to  say.  The  only  wood  I  noticed, 
and  all  that  is  said  to  exist  on  any  of  the  islands, 
is  small  patches  of  willow,  with  stems  an  inch 
12 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

thick,  and  of  several  species  of  woody-stemmed 
heathworts;  this  the  native  Aleuts  gather  for 
fuel,  together  with  small  quantities  of  drift 
wood  cast  on  the  shores  by  the  winds  and  cur 
rents. 

Grass  of  good  quality  for  stock  is  abundant 
on  all  the  larger  islands,  and  cattle  thrive  and 
grow  fat  during  the  summer  wherever  they 
have  been  tried.  But  the  wetness  of  the  sum 
mer  months  will  always  prevent  hay  from  being 
made  in  any  considerable  quantity  and  make 
stock-raising  on  anything  like  a  large  scale 
impossible. 

The  agricultural  possibilities  of  the  islands 
are  also  very  limited.  Oats  and  barley  head 
out  but  never  fully  mature,  and  if  they  did,  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  get  them  dry  enough 
for  the  granary.  Potatoes,  lettuce,  cabbage, 
turnips,  beets,  etc.,  do  well  in  spots  that  are 
well  drained  and  have  a  southern  exposure. 

According  to  the  census  taken  last  year,  the 

inhabitants  of  these  islands  number  2451.    Of 

•  this  population  82  are  whites,  479  Creoles,  and 

1890  Aleuts.  The  Aleuts  are  far  more  civilized 

and  Christianized  than  any  other  tribe   of 

Alaska  Indians.    From  a  third  to  one  half  of 

the  men  and  women  read  and  write.     Their 

occupation  is  the  hunting  of  the  sea-otter  for 

the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 

13 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

A  good  hunter  makes  from  four  hundred  to 
eight  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  In  this  pur 
suit  they  go  hundreds  of  miles  in  their  frail 
skin-covered  canoes,  which  are  so  light  that 
they  may  easily  be  carried  under  one's  arm. 
Earning  so  much  money,  they  are  able  to  sup 
port  themselves  with  many  comforts  beyond 
the  reach  of  most  of  the  laboring  classes  of 
Europe.  Nevertheless,  with  all  their  advan- 
ta'ges,  they  are  fading  away  like  other  Indians. 
The  deaths  exceed  the  births  in  nearly  every 
one  of  their  villages,  and  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time  when  they  will  vanish  from  the  face  of 
the  earth. 

On  the  way  back  to  the  ship  I  sauntered 
through  the  town.  It  contains  about  one  hun 
dred  buildings,  half  of  them  frame,  built  by 
the  Alaska  Commercial  and  Western  Fur  and 
Trading  Companies.  Aleutian  huts  are  called 
"barabaras."  They  are  built  of  turf  on  a  frame 
of  wood;  some  of  them  have  floors,  arid  are  di 
vided  into  many  rooms,  very  small  ones.  The 
smells  are  horrible  to  clean  nostrils,  and  the 
air  is  foul  and  dead  beyond  endurance.  Some 
of  the  bedrooms  are  not  much  larger  than 
coffins.  The  floors  are  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground  two  or  three  feet,  and  the  doors  are  at 
the  end  away  from  the  direction  of  the  pre 
vailing  wind.  There  are  one  or  two  small  win- 
14 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

dows  of  glass  or  bladder,  and  a  small  pipe  sur 
mounts  a  very  small  Russian  stove  in  which 
the  stems  of  empetrum  are  burned. 

In  most  of  the  huts  that  I  entered  I  found 
a  Yankee  clock,  a  few  pictures,  and  ordinary 
cheap  crockery  and  furniture;  accordions,  also, 
as  they  are  very  fond  of  music.  All  such  bits 
of  furniture  and  finery  of  foreign  manufacture 
contrast  meanly  with  their  own  old-fashioned 
kind.  Altogether,  in  dress  and  home  gear,  they 
are  so  meanly  mixed,  savage  and  civilized,  that 
they  make  a  most  pathetic  impression.  The 
moisture  rained  down  upon  them  every  other 
day  keeps  the  walls  and  the  roof  green,  even 
flowery,  and  as  perfectly  fresh  as  the  sod  before 
it  was  built  into  a  hut.  Goats,  once  introduced 
by  the  Russians,  make  these  hut  tops  their 
favorite  play  and  pasture  grounds,  much  to 
the  annoyance  of  their  occupants.  In  one  of 
these  huts  I  saw  for  the  first  tune  arrowheads 
manufactured  out  of  bottle  glass.  The  edges 
are  chipped  by  hard  pressure  with  a  bit  of 
deer  horn. 

As  the  Tlingit  Indians  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago  make  then-  own  whiskey,  so  these 
Aleuts  make  their  own  beer,  an  intoxicating 
drink,  which,  if  possible,  is  more  abominable 
and  destructive  than  hootchenoo.  It  is  called 
"kvass,"  and  was  introduced  by  the  Russians, 
15 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

though  the  Aleutian  kvass  is  only  a  coarse  imi 
tation  of  the  Russian  article,  as  the  Indian 
hootchenoo  is  of  whiskey.  In  its  manufacture 
they  put  a  quantity  of  sugar  and  flour,  or 
molasses  and  flour,  with  a  few  dried  apples, 
in  a  cask,  fill  it  up  with  water,  and  leave  it  to 
ferment.  Then  they  make  haste  to  drink  it 
while  it  is  yet  thick  and  acrid,  and  capable  of 
making  them  howling  drunk.  It  also  creates 
a  fiery  thirst  for  alcohol,  which  is  supplied  by 
traders  whenever  they  get  a  chance.  This 
renders  the  misery  of  the  Aleuts  complete. 

There  are  about  two  thousand  of  them  scat 
tered  along  the  chain  of  islands,  living  in  small 
villages.  Nearly  all  the  men  are  hunters  of  the 
fur  seal,  the  most  expert  making  five  hundred 
dollars  or  more  per  season.  After  paying  old 
debts  contracted  with  the  Companies,  they 
invest  the  remainder  in  trinkets,  in  cloth 
ing  not  so  good  as  then1  own  furs,  and  in  beer, 
and  go  at  once  into  hoggish  dissipation,  hair- 
pulling,  wife-beating,  etc.  In  a  few  years  then* 
health,  becomes  impaired,  they  become  less 
successful  in  hunting,  their  children  are  neg 
lected  and  die,  and  they  go  to  ruin  generally. 
When  they  toss  in  their  kayaks  among  surf- 
beaten  rocks  where  then*  prey  dwells,  their 
business  requires  steady  .nerve.  But  all  the 
proceeds  are  spent  for  what  is  worse  than  use- 

16 


UNALASKA  AND  THE  ALEUTS 

less.  The  best  hunters  have  been  furnished 
with  frame  cottages  by  the  Companies.  These 
cottages  have  a  neat  appearance  outside,  but 
are  very  foul  inside.  Rare  exceptions  are  those 
in  which  one  finds  scrubbed  floors  or  flowers 
in  pots  on  window-sills  and  mantels. 

We  called  at  the  house  of  the  priest  of  the 
Greek  Church,  and  were  received  with  fine 
civility,  ushered  into  a  room  which  for  fine 
ness  of  taste  in  furniture  and  fixtures  might 
well  challenge  the  very  best  in  San  Francisco 
or  New  York.  The  wall-paper,  the  ceiling,  the 
floor,  the  pictures  of  Yosemite  and  the  Czar 
on  the  walls,  the  flowers  in  the  window,  the 
books  on  the  tables,  the  window-curtains  white 
and  gauzy,  tied  with  pink  ribbon,  the  rugs, 
and  odds  and  ends,  all  proclaimed  exquisite 
taste  of  a  kind  that  could  not  possibly  originate 
anywhere  except  in  the  man  himself  or  his  wife. 
This  room  would  have  made  a  keen  impression 
upon  me  wherever  found,  and  is,  I  am  sure, 
not  dependent  upon  the  squalor  of  most  other 
homes  here,  nor  upon  the  wildness  and  remote 
ness  of  Unalaska,  for  the  interest  it  excites. 
He  spoke  only  Russian,  so  that  I  had  but  little' 
conversation  with  him,  as  I  had  to  speak 
through  omr  interpreter.  We  smoked  and 
smiled  and  gestured  and  looked  at  his  beautiful 
home. 

17 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

Bishop  Nestor,  who  has  charge  of  the  Alas 
kan  diocese,  is  said  to  be  a  charming  and  most 
venerable  man.  He  now  resides  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  but  is  having  a  house  built  in  Unalaska. 
He  is  empowered  to  build  and  support,  at  the 
expense  of  the  home  church,  a  certain  number 
of  parish  churches.  Two  out  of  seven  of  these 
are  located  among  the  Aleuts  —  at  Unalaska 
and  Belkofski.  The  other  Aleutian  villages 
which  have  churches,  and  nearly  all  have, 
build  and  support  them  at  their  own  expense. 
The  Russian  Church  claims  about  eleven  thou 
sand  members  in  all  Alaska.  About  one  half 
of  these  are  Aleuts,  one  thousand  Creoles,  and 
the  rest  Indians  of  Nushagak,  Yukon,  and 
Kenai  missions,  over  which  the  Church  exer 
cises  but  a  feeble  control.  Shamanism  with 
slight  variations  extends  over  all  Siberia  and 
Alaska  and,  indeed,  all  America. 


CHAPTER  II 

AMONG   THE   ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

St.  Paul,  Alaska,  May  23,  1881. 

ABOUT  four  o'clock  yesterday  morning  the 
Corwin  left  Unalaska,  and  arrived  at*St.  Paul 
shortly  after  noon  to-day,  the  distance  being 
about  one  hundred  and  ninety  miles.  This  is 
the  metropolis  of  the  Fur  Seal  Islands,  situ 
ated  on  the  island  of  St.  Paul  —  a  handsome 
village  of  sixty-four  neat  frame  cottages,  with 
a  large  church,  schoolhouse,  and  priest's  resi 
dence,  and  a  population  of  nearly  three  hun 
dred  Aleuts,  and  from  twelve  to  twenty  whites. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  here  an  isolated 
group  of  Alaskan  natives  wholly  under  white 
influence  and  control,  and  who  have  hi  great 
part  abandoned  their  own  pursuits,  clothing, 
and  mode  of  life  in  general,  and  adopted  that 
of  the  whites.  They  are  all  employed  by  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  as  butchers,  to 
kill  and  flay  the  hundred  thousand  seals  that 
they  take  annually  here  and  at  the  neighboring 
island  of  St.  George.  Their  bloody  work  lasts 
about  two  months,  and  they  earn  in  this  time 
from  three  hundred  to  six  hundred  dollars 
apiece,  being  paid  forty  cents  per  skin. 
19 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

The  Company  supplies  them  with  a  school, 
medical  attendance,  and  comfortable  dwellings, 
and  looks  after  their  welfare  in  general,  its  own 
interest  being  involved.  They  even  have  a 
bank,  and  are  encouraged  to  save  their  money, 
which  many  of  them  do,  having  accounts  of 
from  two  hundred  to  three  thousand  dollars. 
Fortunately,  the  Aleuts  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 
George  are  pretty  effectively  guarded  against 
whiskey,  and  to  some  extent  against  kvass  also. 
Only  limited  quantities  of  sugar  and  other 
kvass  material  are  sold  to  them.  Nevertheless 
one  of  their  number  told  one  of  our  officers 
to-day  that  he  had  a  bank  account  of  eight 
hundred  dollars  and  would  give  it  all  for  five 
bottles  of  whiskey ;  and  an  agent  of  the  Company 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there  were  not  six  per 
fectly  sober  Aleuts  on  the  whole  island  to-day. 

The  number  of  fur  seals  that  resort  to  these 
two  islands,  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  during 
the  breeding  season,  is  estimated  at  from  three 
to  four  million,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  fall 
ing  off  in  numbers  since  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  began  operations  here.  Only  young 
males  are  killed  by  the  Company,  but  many  of 
both  sexes  are  taken  far  from  here  among 
the  Aleutian  Islands  and  around  the  shores  of 
Vancouver  Island  and  the  outermost  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago. 
20 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

No  one  knows  certainly  whence  they  come  or 
whither  they  go.  But  inasmuch  as  they  make 
their  appearance  every  year  about  the  shores 
of  the  Aleutian  Islands  shortly  after  their  dis 
appearance  from  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  and 
then  later  to  the  southward,  toward  the  coast 
of  British  Columbia,  it  is  supposed  that  they 
are  the  same  animals,  and  that  they  thus 
make  journeys  every  year  of  a  thousand  miles 
or  more,  and  return  to  their  birthplaces  like 
shoals  of  salmon.  They  begin  to  appear  on  the 
breeding-grounds  about  the  first  of  June. 
These  are  old  males,  who  at  once  take  up  their 
stations  on  high  ground  a  short  distance  from 
the  shore,  and  keep  possession  of  their  places 
while  they  await  the  coming  of  the  pregnant , 
females  who  arrive  about  a  month  later,  accom 
panied  by  the  younger  members  of  the  com 
munity.  At  the  height  of  the  season  the 
ground  is  closely  covered  with  them,  and  they 
seldom  go  back  into  the  water  or  take  any  food 
until  the  young  are  well  grown  and  all  are 
ready  to  leave  the  islands  in  the  fall. 

In  addition  to  the  one  hundred  thousand 
taken  here,  the  Company  obtains  about  forty 
thousand  by  purchase  from  the  Russians  at 
Bering  and  Copper  Islands,  and  from  Indians 
and  traders  at  different  points  south  as  far  as 
Oregon.  These  skins  are  said  to  be  worth  fif- 
21 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

teen  dollars  apiece  in  the  London  market,  to 
which  they  are  all  sent.  The  government  reve 
nue  derived  from  the  one  hundred  thousand 
killed  each  year  is  $317,000.  Next  in  impor 
tance  among  the  fur  animals  of  Alaska,  is  the 
sea-otter,  of  which  about  six  thousand  a  year 
are  taken,  worth  from  eighty  dollars  to  one 
hundred  dollars  apiece. 

The  Aleuts  obtain  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars 
in  goods  or  money,  an  alternative  not  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  goods  are  sold  for  their 
money  value,  but  to  the  fact  that  the  traders 
sooner  or  later  receive  back  whatever  money 
they  pay  out  instead  of  goods.  Unlimited  com 
petition  would,  of  course,  run  the  price  much 
higher,  as,  for  example,  it  has  done  in  south 
eastern  Alaska.  Here  the  only  competition  lies 
between  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Com 
pany  and  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 
The  latter  gets  most  of  them.  Each  company 
seeks  the  good-will  of  the  best  hunters  by 
every  means  in  its  power,  by  taking  them  to 
and  from  the  hunting  grounds  in  schooners, 
by  advancing  provisions  and  all  sorts. of  sup 
plies,  by  building  cottages  for  them,  and  sup 
plying  them  with  the  services  of  a  physician 
and  medicine  free.  Only  Indians  are  allowed 
by  law  to  take  furs,  and  whites  married  to 
Indian  women.  This  law  has  induced  some 

22 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

fifteen  white  men  to  marry  Indians  for  the 
privilege  of  taking  sea-otter.  They  have  set 
tled  at  Unga  Island,  one  of  the  Shumagin 
group,  where  there  is  a  village  of  some  hun 
dred  and  eighty-five  Indians. 

Seen  from  the  sea,  all  the  Pribilof  Islands  — 
St.  Paul,  St.  George,  and  Otter  Island  —  ap 
pear  as  mere  rocks,  naked  and  desolate  frag 
ments  of  lava,  wasted  into  bluffs  where  they 
touch  the  sea,  and  shorn  off  on  top  by  the  ice- 
sheet.  The  gray  surfaces  are  roughened  here 
and  there  by  what,  at  a  distance,  seem  to  be 
degraded  volcanic  cones.  Nevertheless,  they 
are  exceedingly  interesting,  not  only  because 
of  the  marvelous  abundance  of  life  about  them 
—  seals,  water  birds,  and  fishes  —  but  because 
they  tell  so  grand  a  story  concerning  the  ice- 
sheet  that  swept  over  them  all  from  the  north. 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Tapkan,  Siberia,  May  31, 1881. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  this  month,  a  bleak, 
snowy  day,  we  enjoyed  our  first  view  of  the 
northern  ocean  ice  at  a  distance  of  only  a  few 
hours  from  the  Pribilof  Islands  in  latitude  58°. 
This  is  not  far  from  its  southern  limit,  though 
strong  north  winds  no  doubt  carry  wasting 
fragments  somewhat  farther.  It  always  reaches 
lower  on  the  American  side.  Norton  Sound  is 
23 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

seldom  clear  before  the  middle  or  end  of  June. 
Here  the  ice  occurs  in  ragged,  berglike  masses 
from  a  foot  to  a  hundred  feet  in  breadth,  and 
with  the  highest  point  not  more  than  ten 
or  twelve  feet  above  the  water.  Its  color  is 
bluish-white,  looking  much  like  coarse,  gran 
ular  snow,  with  pale  blue  stratified  bases  under 
water. 

We  ran  past  one  flat  cake  on  which  lay  a 
small  white  seal  which  kept  its  place,  though 
we  were  within  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  of  it. 
Guns  were  then  brought  into  the  pilot-house 
and  loaded.  In  a  few  minutes  another  seal  was 
discovered  riding  leisurely  on  its  ice  raft  and 
shot.  The  engine  was  stopped,  the  boat  low 
ered,  and  a  sailor  stepped  on  the  ice  and  threw 
the  heedless  fellow  into  the  boat.  It  seemed  to 
pay  scarce  any  attention  to  the  steamer,  and, 
when  wounded  by  the  first  ball  that  was  fired, 
it  did  not  even  then  seek  to  escape,  which  sur 
prised  me  since  those  among  the  fiords  north 
of  Wrangell  and  Sitka  are  so  shy  that  my 
Indians,  as  we  glided  toward  them  in  a  canoe, 
seldom  were  successful  in  getting  a  shot.  The 
seal  was  nearly  white  —  a  smooth  oval  bullet 
without  an  angle  anywhere,  large,  prominent, 
humanlike  eyes,  and  long  whiskers.  It  seemed 
cruel  to  kill  it,  and  most  wonderful  to  us,  as 
we  shivered  in  our  overcoats,  that  it  could  live 

24 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

happily  enough  to  grow  fat  and  keep  full  of 
warm  red  blood  with  water  at  32°  F.  for  its 
pasture  field,  and  wet  sludge  for  its  bed. 

In  half  an  hour  we  descried  another,  a  large 
one,  which  we  also  shot  as  it  lay  at  ease  on  a 
large  cake  against  which  the  waves  were  beat 
ing.  Like  the  other  two,  it  waited  until  we 
were  within  easy  range,  and  allowed  itself  to 
be  shot  without  the  slightest  effort  to  escape. 
This  one  proved  to  be  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
saddle-back  species,  Histriophoca  fasciata,  still 
somewhat  rare  in  collections,  and  eagerly 
sought  for.  It  derives  its  name  from  the  saddle- 
like  bands  of  brown  across  the  back.  This 
specimen  weighed  about  two  hundred  pounds. 
The  skins  of  both  were  saved,  and  the  next 
morning  we  had  some  of  the  flesh  of  the  small 
one  for  breakfast.  The  meat  proved  to  be 
excellent,  dark-red,  and  very  tender,  with  a 
taste  like  that  of  good  venison. 

We  were  steering  direct  for  St.  Matthew 
Island,  noted  for  the  great  numbers  of  polar 
bears  that  haunt  its  shores.  But  as  we  pro 
ceeded,  the  ice  became  more  and  more  abun 
dant,  and  at  length  it  was  seen  ahead  in  a 
solid  pack.  Then  we  had  to  abandon  our  plan 
of  landing  on  the  island,  and  steered  eastward 
around  the  curving  edge  of  the  pack  across  the 
mouth  of  Anadir  Gulf. 
25 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

On  the  twenty-seventh  we  sighted  the  Sibe 
rian  coast  to  the  north  of  the  Gulf,  snow-clad 
mountains  appearing  in  clear  outline  at  a  dis 
tance  of  about  seventy  miles.  Even  thus  far 
the  traces  of  glacial  action  were  easily  recog 
nized  in  the  peculiar  sculpture  of  the  peaks, 
which  here  is  as  unmistakably  marked  as  it  is 
on  the  summits  of  the  Sierra.  Strange  that  this 
has  not  before  attracted  the  attention  of  ob 
servers.  The  highest  of  the  peaks  seems  to  be 
perhaps  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
I  hope  I  may  yet  have  the  chance  to  ascend 
them. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-eighth  we 
came  to  anchor  near  an  Eskimo  village  at  the 
northwest  end  of  St.  Lawrence  Island.  It  was 
blowing  and  snowing  at  the  time,  and  the  poor 
storm-beaten  row  of  huts  seemed  inexpressibly 
dreary  through  the  drift.  Nevertheless,  out  of 
them  came  a  crowd  of  jolly,  well-fed  people, 
dragging  their  skin  canoes,  which  they  shoved 
over  the  rim  of  stranded  ice  that  extended 
along  the  shore,  and  soon  they  were  alongside 
the  steamer,  offering  ivory,  furs',  sealskin 
boots,  etc.,  for  tobacco  and  ammunition. 

There  was  much  inquiry  for  beads,  molasses, 

and  most  of  all  for  rum  and  rifles,  though  they 

willingly  parted  with  anything  they  had  for 

tobacco  and  calico.    After  they  had  procured 

26 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

a  certain  quantity  of  these  articles,  however, 
nothing  but  rifles,  cartridges,  and  rum  would 
induce  them  to  trade.  But  according  to 
American  law,  these  are  not  permitted  to  be 
sold.  There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why 
common  rifles1  should  be  prohibited,  inasmuch 
as  they  would  more  surely  and  easily  gam  a 
living  by  their  use,  while  they  are  peaceable 
and  can  hardly  be  induced  to  fight  without 
very  great  provocation. 

As  to  the  alcohol,  no  restriction  can  possibly 
be  too  stringent.  To  the  Eskimo  it  is  misery 
and  oftentimes  quick  death.  Two  years  ago  the 
inhabitants  of  several  villages  on  this  island 
died  of  starvation  caused  by  abundance  of 
rum,  which  rendered  them  careless  about  the 
laying  up  of  ordinary  supplies  of  food  for  the 
winter.  Then  an  unusually  severe  season  fol 
lowed,  bringing  famine,  and,  after  eating -their 
dogs,  they  lay  down  and  died  in  their  huts. 
Last  year  Captain  Hooper  found  them  where 
they  had  died,  hardly  changed.  Probably  they 
are  still  lying  in  their  rags.  They  numbered 
several  hundreds. 

When  the  people  from  this  village  came 

1  By  a  "common  rifle"  Muir  probably  meant  a  single-shot 
or  muzzle-loading  rifle.  He  changed  his  mind  on  this  subject 
when  he  became  aware  of  the  excessive  slaughter  of  caribou, 
or  wild  reindeer,  committed  by  the  natives  with  repeating 
rifles.  (See  p.  140.) 

27 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

aboard  to-day  they  said  ours  was  the  first  ship 
of  the  season,  and  they  were  greatly  delighted, 
running  over  the  ship  like  children.  We  gave 
them  lead,  powder  and  caps,  tobacco,  et  cetera, 
for  ivory,  Arctic  shoes,  and  reindeer  parkas,  in 
case  we  should  need  them  for  a  winter  in  the 
ice,  ordinary  boots  and  woolen  clothing  being 
wholly  inadequate.  These  are  the  first  Eskimos 
that  I  have  seen.  They  impress  me  as  being 
taller  and  less  distinct  as  a  race  than  I  had  been 
led  to  suppose.  They  do  not  greatly  differ 
from  the  Tlingits  of  southeastern  Alaska;  have 
Mongolian  features  well  marked,  seem  to  have 
less  brain  than  the  Tlingits,  longer  faces,  and 
are  more  simple  and  childlike  in  behavior  and 
disposition.  They  never  quarrel  much  among 
themselves  or  with  their  neighbors,  contrast 
ing  greatly  in  this  respect  with  the  Tlingits  or 
Koluschans. 

It  was  interesting  to  see  how  keenly  and 
quickly  they  felt  a  joke,  and  winced  when 
exposed  to  ridicule.  Some  of  the  women  are 
nearly  white.  They  show  much  taste  in  the 
manufacture  of  then1  clothing,  and  make  every 
thing  durable.  With  their  reindeer  trousers, 
sack,  shirt,  and  sealskin  shoes  they  bid  defiance 
to  the  most  extreme  cold.  Their  sack,  made 
from  the  intestine  of  the  sea-lion,  while  exceed 
ingly  light,  is  waterproof.  Some  of  their  parkas 

28 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

are  made  of  the  breast  skins  of  ducks,  but  in 
no  case  do  they  wear  blankets.  When  they  can 
procure  calico  or  drilling  they  wear  overshirts 
of  this  material,  which  gives  them  a  very 
shabby  and  dirty  look.  Why  they  should  want 
such  flimsy  and  useless  material  I  cannot  guess. 
Dressed  in  their  roomy  furs,  tied  at  the  waist, 
they  seem  better-dressed  than  any  other  In 
dians  I  have  seen.  The  trousers  of  the  men  are 
made  of  sealskin,  with  the  fur  outside.  Those 
of  the  women  are  of  deerskin  and  are  extremely 
baggy.  The  legs,  where  gathered  and  tied 
below  the  knee,  measure  about  two  feet  in 
diameter. 

The  chief  of  this  village  is  a  large  man,  five 
feet  ten  inches  or  six  feet  tall,  with  a  very  long 
flat  face  and  abruptly  tapering  forehead,  small, 
bright,  cunningeyes,  and  childishly  good-natured 
and  wide-awake  to  everything  curious.  Always 
searching  for  something  to  laugh  at,  they  are 
ready  to  stop  short  in  the  middle  of  most  im 
portant  bargainings  to  get  hold  of  some  bit  of 
fun.  Then  then-  big  faces  would  fall  calm  with 
ludicrous  suddenness,  either  from  being  empty 
or  from  some  business  requiring  attention. 
There  was  less  apparent  squalor  and  misery 
among  them  than  among  any  other  Indians  I 
have  seen. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  they  cut  off  their  hair 

29 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

close  to  the  scalp,  all  save  a  narrow  rim  around 
the  base,  much  like  the  Chinese  without  the 
queue.  The  hair  in  color  and  coarseness  is 
exactly  like  that  of  the  Chinese;  in  a  general 
way  they  resemble  them  also  in  their  clothes. 
Their  heads  seem  insensible  to  cold,  for  they 
bare  them  to  the  storms,  and  seem  to  enjoy 
it  when  the  snow  falls  on  their  skulls.  There  is 
a  hood,  however,  attached  to  most  parkas, 
which  is  drawn  up  over  the  head  in  very  severe 
weather. 

Their  mode  of  smoking  is  peculiar.  The  pipe 
is  made  of  brass  or  copper,  often  curiously  in 
laid  with  lead,  and  the  bowl  is  very  small,  not 
over  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter  inside, 
and  with  a  flaring  cuplike  rim  to  prevent  loss 
when  it  is  being  filled.  Only  a  small  pinch  of 
finely  pulverized  tobacco  is  required  to  fill  it. 
Then  the  Eskimo  smoker  lights  it  with  a 
match,  or  flint  and  steel,  and  without  remov 
ing  the  pipe  from  his  mouth,  sucks  in  the 
smoke  and  inhales  it,  inflating  his  lungs  to  the 
utmost  and  holding  it  a  second  or  two,  expels 
it,  coughs,  and  puts  his  pipe  and  little  bag  of 
tobacco  away,  the  whole  smoke  not  lasting  one 
minute.  From  the  time  he  commences  he  holds 
his  breath  until  it  is  finished.  The  more  acrid 
and  pungent  the  tobacco  the  better.  If  it  does 
not  compel  them  to  cough  and  gasp  it  is  not 

30 


THE  ISLANDS  OF  BERING  SEA 

considered  good.  In  buying  any  considerable 
quantity  they  try  it  before  completing  the 
bargain.  This  method  of  smoking  is  said  to  be 
practiced  among  all  the  Eskimos  and  also  the 
Chukchis  of  Siberia. 

In  buying  whiskey  or  rum  from  the  traders 
it  is  said  that  they  select  one  of  their  number 
to  test  its  strength.  The  trader  gives  nearly 
pure  alcohol,  so  that  the  lucky  tester  becomes 
drunk  at  once,  which  satisfies  them.  Then  the 
keg  that  is  purchased  is  found  to  be  well 
watered  and  intoxication  goes  on  slowly  and 
feebly,  much  to  their  disgust  and  surprise. 


CHAPTER  III 

SIBEKIAN  ADVENTURES 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
Tapkan,  Siberia,  May  31, 1881.] 

AFTER  inquiring  about  the  movements  of 
the  ice  and  the  whaling  fleet,  we  weighed  anchor 
and  steered  for  Plover  Bay  on  the  coast  of- 
Siberia,  taking  several  of  the  natives  with  us. 
They  had  a  few  poles  for  the  frame  of  a  boat 
and  skins  to  cover  it,  and  for  food  a  piece  of 
walrus  flesh  which  they  ate  raw.  This,  with  a 
gun  and  a  few  odds  and  ends,  was  all  their 
property,  yet  they  seemed  more  confident  of 
their  ability  to  earn  a  living  than  most  whites 
on  then-  farms. 

The  afternoon  was  clear  and  the  mountains 
about  Plover  Bay  showed  themselves  in  bold 
relief,  quite  imposing  and  Yosemitic  in  sculp 
ture  and  composition.  There  was  so  much  ice 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  which  is  a  glacial 
fiord,  that  we  could  not  enter.  In  the  edge  of 
the  pack  we  spoke  the  whaler  Rainbow,  and 
delivered  the  Arctic  mail.  Then  we  proceeded 
a  short  distance  northward,  put  into  Marcus 
Bay,  and  anchored  in  front  of  a  small  Chukchi 
settlement.  A  boatful  of  natives  came  aboard 

32 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

and  told  a  story  "important  if  true,"  concern 
ing  the  destruction  of  the  lost  whaler  Vigilant 
and  the  death  of  her  crew.  Three  Chukchi  seal 
hunters,  they  said,  while  out  on  the  ice  last 
November,  near  Cape  Serdzekamen,  discov 
ered  the  ship  in  the  pack,  her  masts  broken  off 
by  the  ice,  and  the  crew  dead  on  the  deck  and 
in  the  cabin.  They  had  brought  off  a  bag  of . 
money  and  such  articles  as  they  could  carry 
away,  some  of  which  had  been  shown  to  other 
natives,  and  the  story  had  traveled  from  one 
settlement  to  another  thus  far  down  the  coast. 

All  this  was  told  with  an  air  of  perfect  good 
faith,  and  they  seemed  themselves  to  believe 
what  they  were  telling.  We  had  heard  sub 
stantially  the  same  story  at  St.  Lawrence 
Island.  But  knowing  the  ability  of  these  peo 
ple  for  manufacturing  tales  of  this  sort,  we 
listened  with  many  grains  of  allowance,  though 
of  course  determined  to  investigate  further. 

Here  we  began  to  inquire  for  dogs,  and  were 
successful  in  hiring  a  team  of  six,  and  then* 
owner  to  drive  them.  The  owner  is  called 
"Chukchi  Joe,"  and  since  he  can  speak  a  little 
English  he  is  also  to  act  in  the  capacity  of 
interpreter,  his  language  being  the  same  as 
that  spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  north 
Siberian  coast.  While  we  were  trying  to  hire 
him,  one  of  his  companions  kept  reiterating 

33 


that  there  was  no  use  in  sending  out  people  to 
look  for  the  crews  of  those  ships,  for  they  were 
all  dead.  Joe  also  said  that  it  was  no  use  going, 
and  that  he  was  afraid  to  venture  so  far  for 
fear  he  would  never  get  back.  The  snow,  he 
objected,  was  too  soft  at  this  time  of  year,  and 
many  rivers  hard  to  cross  were  hi  the  way,  and 
he  did  not  like  to  leave  his  family.  But  after 
we  had  promised  to  pay  him  well,  whether  our 
lost  friends  were  found  or  not,  he  consented 
to  go,  and  when  he  went  ashore  to  get  ready 
we  went  with  him. 

The  settlement  consisted  of  only  two  habita 
tions  with  twenty-five  or  thirty  persons,  lo 
cated  back  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
coast.  On  reaching  home  Joe  quickly  vanished. 
His  hut  was  about  twenty-five  feet  in  diame 
ter,  and  was  made  of  poles  bent  down  at  the 
top,  where  they  all  met  to  form  a  hemisphere. 
This  frame  was  covered  with  skins  of  seal,  sea- 
lion,  and  walrus,  chiefly  the  latter.  .  .  .  Since 
much  of  the  flesh  on  which  the  Chukchis 
subsist  is  eaten  raw,  only  very  small  fires  are 
made,  and  the  huts  are  cold.  The  ground  inside 
of  this  one  was  wet  and  muddy  as  a  Calif  ornia 
corral  in  the  rainy  season,  and  seemed  almost 
as  large.  But  around  the  sides  of  this  cold, 
squalid  shell,  little  more  than  a  wind-break 
and  partial  shelter  from  rain  and  snow,  there 
34 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

were  a  number  of  very  snug,  clean,  luxurious 
bedrooms,  whose  sides,  ceiling,  and  floor  were 
made  of  fur;  they  were  lighted  by  means  of  a 
pan  of  whale-oil  with  a  bit  of  moss  for  a  wick. 
After  being  out  all  day  hunting  in  the  stormy 
weather,  or  on  ice-packs  or  frozen  tundras, 
the  Chukchi  withdraws  into  this  furry  sanctum, 
takes  off  all  his  clothing,  and  spreads  his 
wearied  limbs  in  luxurious  ease,  sleeping  per 
fectly  nude  in  the  severest  weather. 

After  introducing  ourselves  and  shaking 
hands  with  a  few  of  the  most  dignified  of  the 
old  men,  we  looked  about  the  strange  domicile. 
Dogs,  children,  men,  women,  and  utensils; 
spears,  guns,  whale-lances,  etc.,  were  stuck 
about  the  rafters  and  hanging  on  the  support 
ing  posts.  We  looked  into  one  of  the  fur  bed 
rooms,  about  six  by  seven,  and  found  Joe 
enjoying  a  bath  ere  putting  on  his  fine  clothes 
to  set  out  with  us.  Soon  he  emerged  clad  in  a 
blue  cloth  army  coat  with  brass  buttons  and 
shoulder  straps  and  army  cap!  I  scarcely  knew 
him. 

In  the  mean  tune  Captain  H[ooper]  was  off 
taking  a  drive  over  the  snow  with  a  dog-team 
and  sled.  When  he  returned  Joe  was  having  a 
farewell  talk  with  his  wife,  who  seemed  very 
anxious  about  his  safety  and  long  absence. 
His  little  boy,  too,  about  a  year  and  a  half  old, 
35 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

had  been  told  that  his  father  was  going  away 
and  he  seemed  to  understand  somewhat,  as  he 
kept  holding  him  by  the  legs  and  trying  to 
talk  to  him  while  looking  up  in  his  face.  When 
we  started  away  from  the  house  he  kissed  his 
boy  and  bade  him  good-bye.  The  little  fellow 
in  his  funny  bags  of  fur  toddled  after  him  until 
caught  and  carried  back  by  some  of  the 
women  who  were  looking  on.  Joe's  wife  came 
aboard  for  a  final  farewell.  After  taking  him 
aside  and  talking  with  him,  the  tears  running 
down  her  cheeks,  she  left  the  vessel  and  went 
back  with  some  others  who  had  come  to  trade 
deerskins,  while  we  sailed  away.  One  touch  of 
nature  makes  all  the  world  kin,  and  here  were 
many  touches  among  the  wild  Chukchis. 

We  next  proceeded  to  St.  Lawrence  Bay  in 
search  of  furs  and  more  dogs,  and  came  to 
anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  opposite  a 
small  Chukchi  settlement  of  two  huts,  at  half- 
past  one  in  the  afternoon,  May  29.  This  bay, 
like  all  I  have  seen  along  this  coast,  is  of  glacial 
formation,  conducting  back  into  glacial  foun 
tains  in  a  range  of  peaks  of  moderate  height. 
The  wind  was  blowing  hard  from  the  south 
and  snow  was  falling.  The  natives,  however, 
came  off  at  once  to  trade.  Here  we  met  the 
voluble  Jaroochah,  who  sat  gravely  on  the 
sloppy  deck  in  the  sludge,  and  told  the  story 

36 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

of  the  wrecked  Vigilant  in  a  loud,  vehement, 
growling,  roaring  voice  and  with  frantic  ges 
tures.  He  assured  us  over  and  over  again  that 
there  was  no  use  in  going  to  seek  any  of  the 
crew,  for  they  were  all  dead  and  the  ship  with 
her  broken  masts  had  drifted  away  again  to 
the  north  with  the  ice-pack.  When  told  that 
we  would  certainly  seek  them  whether  dead  or 
alive,  he  explained  that  the  snow  and  ice  were 
too  soft  for  sleds  at  this  tune  of  year.  Seeing 
that  we  were  still  unconvinced,  he  doubtless 
regarded  us  as  foolish  and  incorrigible  white 
trash. 

We  went  ashore  to  fetch  some  dogs  they 
offered  to  sell,  but  they  changed  their  minds 
and  refused  to  sell  at  any  price,  nor  were  they 
willing  to  barter  deerskins  that  we  needed  for 
the  trip  and  for  winter  clothing  in  case  we 
should  be  caught  in  the  ice  and  compelled  to 
pass  a  winter  in  the  Arctic.  We  presented  them 
with  a  bucket  of  hardtack  which  no  one  of  the 
party  touched  until  the  old  orator  gave  orders 
to  his  son  to  divide  it.  This  he  did  by  counting 
it  out  on  the  deck,  laying  down  one  biscuit  for 
each  person  and  then  adding  one  to  e.ach  until 
all  was  exhausted,  piling  them  on  each  other 
like  a  money-changer  counting  out  coins.  The 
mannerly  reserve  and  unhasting  dignity  of  all 
these  natives  when  food  is  set  before  them  is 
37 

42808 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

very  striking  as  compared  with  the  ravenous, 
snatching  haste  of  the  hungry  poor  among  the 
whites.  Even  the  children  look  wistfully  at 
the  heap  of  bread,  without  touching  it  until 
invited,  and  then  eat  very  slowly  as  if  not  hun 
gry  at  all.  Nor  do  they  ever  need  to  be  told  to 
wait.  Even  when  a  year  of  famine  occurs  from 
any  cause,  they  endure  it  with  fortitude  such 
as  would  be  sought  for  in  vain  among  the  civi 
lized,  and  after  braving  the  most  intense  cold 
of  these  dreary  ice-bound  coasts  in  search  of 
food,  if  unsuccessful,  they  wrap  themselves  in 
their  furs  and  die  quietly  as  if  only  going  to 
sleep.  This  they  did  by  hundreds  two  years 
ago  on  St.  Lawrence  Island. 

Finding  that  we  could  not  buy  anything  that 
we  wanted  here,  savage  eloquence  being  the 
only  article  offered,  we  sailed  for  the  Diomedes. 
Here  we  found  the  natives  eager  to  trade  away 
everything  they  had.  We  bought  a  lot  of  furs 
and  nineteen  dogs,  paying  a  sack  of  flour  for 
each  dog.  This  Arctic  cattle  market  was  in 
every  way  lively  and  picturesque,  and  ended 
satisfactorily  to  all  the  parties  concerned.  The 
scene  of  barter  as  each  Eskimo,  pitching  along 
side  in  his  skin  boat,  hoisted  the  howling  wolves 
aboard,  and  thence  to  the  upper  deck  in  front 
of  the  pilot-house,  was  a  rare  one. 

The  villages  are  perched  on  the  steep  rocky 
38 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

slopes  of  mountains  which  drop  at  once  sheer 
into  deep  water,  one  mountain  per  island.1  No 
margin  is  left  for  a  village  along  the  shore,  so, 
like  the  seabirds  that  breed  here  and  fly  about 
in  countless  multitudes  darkening  the  water, 
the  rocks,  and  the  ah1,  the  natives  had  to  perch 
their  huts  on  the  cliffs,  dragging  boats  and 
everything  up  and  down  very  steep  trails.  The 
huts  are  mostly  built  of  stone  with  skin  roofs. 
They  look  like  mere  stone-heaps,  black  dots  on 
the  snow  at  a  distance,  with  .whalebone  posts 
set  up  and  framed  at  the  top  to  lay  their  canoes 
beyond  the  dogs  that  would  otherwise  eat  them. 
The  dreariest  towns  I  ever  beheld  —  the  tops 
of  the  islands  in  gloomy  storm-clouds;  snow  to 
the  water's  edge,  and  blocks  of  rugged  ice  for 
a  fringe;  then  the  black  water  dashing  against 
the  ice;  the  gray  sleety  sky,  the  screaming 
water  birds,  the  howling  wind,  and  the  blue 
gathering  sludge! 

We  now  pushed  on  through  the  strait  and 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  without  encountering 
any  ice,  and  passed  Cape  Serdzekamen  this 
afternoon  [May  31].  The  weather  has  been 
calm  and  tolerably  clear  for  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours,  enabling  us  to  see  the  coast  now 

1  Muir  noted  in  his  journal  that  "  Fairway  Rock  near  the 
East  Diomede  is  a  similar  smaller  island,  on  which  the  gran 
ite  rock  is  glaciated." 

39 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

and  then.   It  showed  hills  of  moderate  height, 
rising  here  and  there  to  mountains. 

About  twelve  miles  northwest  from  Cape 
Serdzekamen  we  observed  a  marked  bluff 
where  the  shore  ice  seemed  narrower  than  else 
where,  and  we  approached,  intending  to  exam 
ine  it  with  reference  to  landing  the  party  here. 
When  we  were  within  a  mile  of  it  we  saw  a 
group  of  natives  signaling  us  to  land  by  wav 
ing  something  over  their  heads.  The  Captain, 
Joe,  and  myself  got  on  the  ice  from  the  boat, 
and  began  to  scramble  over  it  toward  the  bluff, 
but  found  the  ice  very  rough  and  made  slow 
progress.  The  pack  is  made  up  of  a  crushed 
mass  of  blocks  and  pinnacles  tilted  at  every 
angle  up  to  a  height  of  from  ten  to  thirty  feet, 
and  it  seemed  to  become  rougher  and  more 
impassable  as  we  advanced. 

Fortunately  we  discovered  a  group  of  natives 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  so  to  the  westward,  com 
ing  toward  the  ship,  when  we  returned  to  our 
boat  that  was  lying  at  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and 
went  around  to  meet  them.  After  shaking 
hands  with  the  -most  imposing  of  the  group  of 
eight,  we  directed  Joe  to  tell  them  the  object 
we  had  in  coming,  and  to  inquire  whether  two 
of  their  number  would  go  with  our  sledge  party 
to  assist  in  driving  the  teams.  One  of  them,  a 
strapping  fellow  over  six  feet  tall,  said  that  he 

40 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

had  a  wife  and  four  boys  and  two  girls  to  hunt 
seals  for,  and  therefore  could  not  go.  As  Joe 
interpreted  him  in  whaler  English,  he  was 
"already  hungry  like  hell."  Another  said  that 
the  journey  was  too  long  for  him,  that  our 
friends  were  not  along  the  coast,  else  he  would 
certainly  have  heard  about  them,  and  therefore 
the  journey  would  be  vain.  We  urged  that  we 
were  going  to  seek  them  whether  they  were  to 
be  found  or  not,  and  that  if  they  would  go  with 
us  we  would  leave  more  food  for  their  families 
than  they  could  get  for  them  by  hunting. 

Two  of  the  number  at  length  consented  to 
go,  after  being  assured  that  we  would  pay  them 
well,  whether  the  journey  proved  successful  or 
otherwise.  Then  we  intimated  that  we  would 
like  to  visit  their  village,  which  seemed  to 
please  them;  for  they  started  at  once  to  guide 
us  over  the  hummocky  ice  to  where  they  had 
left  their  dog-teams  and  sleds.  It  was  a  rough 
scramble  at  best,  and  even  the  natives  slipped 
at  tunes  and  hesitated  cautiously  in  choosing 
a  way,  while  we,  encumbered  with  overcoats 
and  not  so  well  shod,  kept  sinking  with  awk 
ward  glints  and  slumps  into  hopper-shaped 
hollows  and  chasms  filled  with  snow.  One  of 
them  kindly  gave  me  his  balancing-stick. 

Beyond  the  roughest  portion  of  the  hum 
mock  region  we  found  the  dogs,  nearly  a  hun- 
41 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

dred  of  them,  with  eleven  sleds,  making,  as 
they  lay  at  their  ease,  an  imposing  picture 
among  the  white  ice.  Three  of  the  teams  were 
straightened  out  and  one  of  them  given  in 
charge  of  Joe,  who  is  an  adept  at  driving,  while 
the  Captain  and  I  were  taken  on  behind  the 
drivers  of  the  other  two;  and  away  we  sped 
over  the  frozen  ceiling  of  the  sea,  two  rows  of 
tails  ahead. 

The  distance  to  the  village,  called  "Tapkan" 
by  the  natives,  was  about  three  miles,  the  first 
mile  very  rough  and  apparently  hopelessly  in 
accessible  to  sleds.  But  the  wolfish  dogs  and 
drivers  seemed  to  regard  it  all  as  a  regular 
turnpike,  and  jogged  merrily  on,  up  one  side  of 
a  tilted  block  or  slab  and  down  the  other  with 
a  sudden  pitch  and  plunge,  swishing  round  side 
ways  on  squinted  cakes,  and  through  pools  of 
water  and  sludge  in  blue,  craggy  hollows,  on 
and  on,  this  way  and  that,  with  never  a  halt, 
the  dogs  keeping  up  a  steady  jog  trot,  and  the 
leader  simply  looking  over  his  shoulder  occa 
sionally  for  directions  in  the  worst  places.  The 
driver  admonished  them  with  loud  calls  of 
"Hoora!  Hoora!  Shedack!  Shedack!  Knock! 
Knock!"  but  seldom  struck  them.  He  had  to 
hold  himself  in  constant  readiness  to  jump  off 
and  hold  the  sled  while  guiding  it  around  sharp 
angles  and  across  the  high  cutting  ridges.  My 

42 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

sled  was  not  upset  at  all,  and  the  Captain's 
only  twice. 

Part  of  our  way  was  across  the  mouth  of  a 
bay  on  smooth  ice  that  had  not  been  subjected 
to  the  mashing,  upheaving  strain  of  the  ocean 
ice,  and  over  this  we  glided  rapidly.  My 
Chukchi  driver,  now  that  he  had  no  oare  about 
the  upsetting  of  the  sled,  frequently  turned  with 
a  smile  and  did  his  best  to  entertain  me,  though 
he  did  not  understand  a  word  of  English.  It 
was  a  rare,  strange  ride  for  us,  yet  accomplished 
with  such  everyday  commonplace  confidence, 
that  it  seemed  at  the  time  as  if  this  might  be 
the  only  mode  of  land  travel  in  the  world. 

Some  teams  were  just  arriving  from  the  vil 
lage  as  we  were  going  to  it.  When  we  met,  the 
dogs  passed  each  other  to  right  or  left  as  they 
were  told  by  their  drivers,  who  kept  flourishing 
a  whip  and  jingling  some  iron  rings  that  were 
tied  loosely  to  one  end  of  a  short  stick  that 
had  an  iron  goad  in  the  other,  and  of  which 
the  dogs  knew  the  use  all  too  well.  They  are 
as  steady  as  oxen,  each  keeping  its  trace-line 
tight,  and  showing  no  inclination  to  shirk  — 
utterly  unlike  the  illustrations  I  had  seen,  in 
which  all  are  represented  as  running  at  a  wild 
gallop  with  mouths  wide  open. 

The  village  is  built  on  a  sand-bar  pushed  up 
by  the  ice  on  the  west  side  of  a  narrow  bay.  I 
43 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

counted  twenty  huts  in  all.  When  we  drove 
up,  the  women  and  children,  and  a  few  old  men 
who  had  not  been  tempted  to  make  the  jour 
ney  to  the  ship,  came  out  to  meet  us.  Captain 
Hooper  went  to  the  house  belonging  to  his 
driver,  I  to  the  one  belonging  to  mine;  after 
wards  we  joined  and  visited  in  company.  We 
were  kindly  received  and  shown  to  good  seats 
on  reindeer  skins.  All  of  them  smiled  good- 
naturedly  when  we  shook  hands  with  them, 
and  tried  to  repeat  our  salutations.  When  we 
discussed  our  proposed  land  journey  the  wo 
men  eagerly  joined  and  the  children  listened 
attentively. 

We  inquired  about  the  Vega,  knowing  that 
she  had  wintered  hereabouts.  At  first  they 
said  they  knew  nothing  about  her;  that  no  ship 
had  wintered  here  two  years  ago.  Then,  as  if 
suddenly  remembering,  one  of  them  said  a 
three-masted  ship,  a  steamer  like  the  Corwin, 
had  stopped  one  season  in  the  ice  at  a  point 
a  few  miles  east  of  the  village,  and  had  gone 
away  when  it  melted  in  the  summer.  A  woman, 
who  had  been  listening,  then  went  to  a  box,  and 
after  turning  it  over,  showed  us  a  spoon,  fork, 
and  pocket  compass  of  Russian  manufacture, 
which  she  said  the  captain  had  given  them. 

The  huts  here  are  like  those  already  de 
scribed,  only  they  are  dry  because  of  the  porous 
44 


SIBERIAN  ADVENTURES 

character  of  the  ground.  Three  or  four  families 
live  in  one  each  having  a  private  polog  of  deer 
skins,  of  which  there  are  several  thicknesses  on 
the  floor.  We  were  shown  into  one  —  the  snug 
gest  storm  nest  imaginable,  and  perfectly  clean. 
The  common  hut  is  far  otherwise;  dogs  mingle 
with  the  food,  hair  is  everywhere,  and  strangely 
persistent  smells  that  defy  even  the  Arctic 
frosts.  The  children  seemed  in  fair  ratio  with 
the  adults.  When  a  child  is  to  be  nursed  the 
mother  merely  pulls  out  one  of  her  arms  from 
the  roomy  sleeve  of  her  parka  and  pushes  it 
down  until  the  breast  is  exposed.  The  breasts 
are  pendulous  and  cylindrical,  like  those  of  the 
Tlingits. 

The  dishes  used  in  domestic  affairs  are  of 
wood,  and  in  the  smallest  of  these  the  puppies, 
after  licking  them,  were  often  noticed  to  lie 
down.  They  seemed  made  specially  for  them, 
so  well  did  they  fit.  Dogs  were  eagerly  licking 
the  large  kettles,  also,  in  which  seal  meat  had 
been  boiled.  They  seemed  to  be  favored  in 
these  establishments  like  the  pigs  in  Irish  huts. 
Spears,  lances,  guns,  and  nets  were  fastened 
about  the  timbers  of  the  roof  and  sides,  but 
little  food  of  any  kind  was  visible.  A  pot  was 
swinging  over  a  small  fire  of  driftwood  when  we 
entered  one  of  the  huts,  and  an  old  dame  was 
stirring  it  occasionally,  and  roasting  seal  liver 

45 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

on  the  coals  beneath  it.    On  leaving  we  were 
each  presented  with  a  pair  of  fur  mittens. 

At  the  last  moment,  when  we  were  ready  to 
return  to  the  ship,  one  of  the  men  we  had  en 
gaged  to  go  with  the  land  party  changed  his 
mind  and  concluded  to  stay  at  home.  The 
other  stuck  to  his  engagement,  though  evi 
dently  feeling  sore  about  leaving  his  family. 
His  little  boy  cried  bitterly  when  he  learned 
that  his  father  was  going  away,  and  refused 
all  the  offers  made  by  the  women  to  comfort 
him.  After  we  had  sped  away  over  the  ice, 
half  a  mile  from  the  village,  we  could  still  hear 
his  screams.  Just  as  the  ship  was  about  to 
weigh  anchor,  the  second  man  again  offered 
to  go  with  us,  but  Joe  said  to  the  Captain, 
"More  better  not  take  that  fellow,  he  too 
much  talk." 

The  group  of  lookers-on  congregated  on  the 
edge  of  the  ice  was  very  picturesque  seen  from 
the  vessel  as  we  moved  away.  The  Chukchis 
are  taller  and  more  resolute-looking  people  than 
the  Eskimos  of  the  opposite  coast,  but  both  are 
Mongols  and  nearly  alike  in  dress  and  mode 
of  life,  as  well  as  in  religion. 

The  weather  is  promising  this  evening. 
No  portion  of  the  polar  pack  is  in  sight,  and 
we  mean  to  push  on  westward  as  far  as  we 
can  with  safety. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN   PEKIL   FKOM   THE   PACK 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Near  the  edge  of  the  shore  ice, 

opposite  Koliuchin  Island, 

6  P.M.,  June  2,  1881. 

AFTER  leaving  Tapkan,  twelve  miles  north 
west  of  Cape  Serdzekamen,  on  the  evening  of 
the  last  day  of  May,  we  steamed  along  the  coast 
to  the  westward,  tracing  the  edge  of  the  shore- 
ice,  which  seemed  to  be  from  three  to  six  miles 
wide.  The  weather  was  tranquil,  though  rather 
thick  at  times,  and  the  water  was  like  glass  and 
as  smooth  as  a  mill-pond.  About  half-past  five 
yesterday  afternoon  we  reached  the  end  of  the 
open  lead  that  wre  had  been  following,  one 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  west  of  Cape  Serd 
zekamen,  latitude  68°  28'  N.,  longitude  175° 
10'  W.,  having  thus  early  in  the  season  gained 
a  point  farther  west  than  the  Corwin  was  able 
to  reach  at  any  time  last  year. 

At  this  point  the  firm  coast  ice  united  with 
the  great  polar  pack,  and,  as  there  was  danger 
of  its  drifting  south  at, any  time  and  cutting 
us  off,  we  made  haste  to  the  eastward,  keeping 
as  far  offshore  as  possible,  that  we  might  be 
able  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  pack. 

47 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

About  seven  o'clock  last  evening,  the  weather 
becoming  thick,  the  engine  was  stopped  and 
the  vessel  was  allowed  to  proceed  slowly  under 
sail. 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  this  morning  I 
was  awakened  by  unusual  sounds  on  deck,  and 
after  listening  for  a  few  minutes,  concluded 
that  we  must  be  entangled  in  the  edge  of  the 
pack  and  were  unshipping  the  rudder  for  fear 
it  might  be  carried  away.  Going  on  deck,  I 
was  surprised  to  see  the  broken  rudder  being 
hoisted,  for  I  had  not  been  awakened  by  the 
blow.  The  oak  shaft  was  broken  completely 
off,  and  also  all  three  of  the  pintles.  It  seems 
that  about  midnight,  owing  to  the  fog  and 
snow,  we  got  into  a  field  of  heavy  masses  of 
ice  on  the  edge  of  the  main  pack,  which,  on 
account  of  a  north  wind  that  had  commenced 
to  blow,  was  now  moving  slowly  southward, 
and  while  backing  out  of  it,  a  moderate  bump 
that  chanced  to  take  the  rudder  at  the  greatest 
disadvantage  broke  it  off  without  any  appre 
ciable  strain. 

The  situation  was  sufficiently  grave  and  ex 
citing  —  dark  weather,  the  wind  from  the 
north  and  freshening  every  minute,  and  the 
vast  polar  pack  pushing  steadily  shoreward. 
It  was  a  cold,  bleak,  stormy  morning,  with  a 
close,  sweeping  fall  of  snow,  that  encumbered 

48 


IN  PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK 

the  deck  and  ropes  and  nearly  blinded  one 
when  compelled  to  look  to  windward.  Our 
twenty-five  dogs  made  an  effective  addition  to 
the  general  uproar,  howling  as  only  Eskimo 
dogs  can.  They  were  in  the  way,  of  course, 
and  were  heartily  kicked  hither  and  thither. 
The  necessary  orders,  however,  were  being 
promptly  given  and  obeyed.  As  soon  as  the 
broken  rudder  was  secured  on  deck,  four  long 
spars  were  nailed  and  lashed  firmly  together, 
fastened  astern  and  weighted  to  keep  them  in 
place  at  the  right  depth  in  the  water.  This 
made  a  capital  jury-rudder.  It  was  worked  by 
ropes  attached  on  either  side  and  to  the  steam 
windlass.  The  whole  was  brought  into  com 
plete  working  order  in  a  few  hours,  nearly 
everybody  rendering  service,  notwithstand 
ing  the  blinding  storm  and  peril,  as  if  jury- 
rudder  making  under  just  these  circumstances 
were  an  everyday  employment.  Then,  finding 
everything  worked  well,  we  made  our  escape 
from  the  closing  ice  and  set  out  for  Plover  Bay 
to  repair  the  damage. 

About  four  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  clouds 
lifted,  we  sighted  Koliuchin  Island,  which  our 
two  Chukchi  natives  hailed  with  joyful,  beam 
ing  eyes.  They  evidently  were  uneasy  because 
of  the  accident,  and  on  account  of  being  so  long 
out  of  sight  of  land  —  a  state  of  mind  easily 
49 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

explained  by  the  dangers  attending  their  mode 
of  life  among  the  ice.  In  front  of  the  island 
the  ice  seemed  to  be  two  or  three  miles  wide 
and  lavishly  roughened  with  jammed,  angular 
hummocks.  Captain  Hooper  was  now  very 
anxious  to  get  his  sledge  party  landed.  Every 
thing  was  ready  to  be  put  on  shore  as  soon  as 
a  safe  landing-place  should  be  discovered.  The 
two  Chukchis  were  in  the  pilot-house  gazing 
wistfully  at  the  gloomy  snow-covered  island  as 
it  loomed  up  in  the  gray,  stormy  sky  with  its 
jagged  reach  of  ice  in  the  foreground  beaten 
by  the  waves. 

The  Captain  directed  Chukchi  Joe,  the  in 
terpreter,  to  ask  his  companion,  the  dog- 
driver,  who  was  familiar  with  the  condition  of 
the  ice  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  whether  this 
was  a  good  point  on  which  to  land.  His  an 
swer,  as  interpreted  by  Joe,  was:  "He  says  it's 
good;  it's  pretty  good,  he  says."  "Then  get 
ready,  Mr.  Herring,  for  your  journey,"  ordered 
the  Captain.  "Here,  Quartermaster,  get  the 
provisions  on  deck. "  "  Lower  the  boats  there. ' ' 
"Joe,  harness  the  dogs." 

In  a  few  minutes  all  was  in  readiness  and 
in  the  boats.  The  party  is  composed  of  First 
Lieutenant  Herring,  in  charge;  Third  Lieuten 
ant  Reynolds,  a  sailor1  and  the  two  Chukchis. 

1  Coxswain  Gessler. 
50 


IN  PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK 

They  have  twenty-five  dogs,  four  sleds,  a  light 
skin  boat  to  cross  rivers  and  any  open  water 
they  may  find  in  their  way,  and  two  months' 
provisions.  They  were  directed  to  search  the 
coast  as  far  to  the  westward  as  possible  for  the 
crew  of  the  Jeannette  or  any  tidings  concern 
ing  the  fate  of  the  expedition;  to  interview  the 
natives  they  met;  to  explore  the  prominent 
portions  of  the  coast  for  cairns  and  signals  of 
any  kind,  and  to  return  to  Tapkan,  where  we 
would  meet  them,  while  in  the  mean  time  we 
propose  to  cruise  wherever,  under  existing  con 
ditions,  we  can  best  carry  out  the  objects  of 
the  expedition. 

The  party  and  all  their  equipments  were 
carried  from  the  vessel  to  the  ice  in  three  boats, 
roped  together  at  intervals  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet,  the  life-boat  leading  with  the  party, 
clothing,  provisions,  etc.  Then  came  the  din- 
ghey,  loaded  nearly  to  the  water's  edge  with 
the  dogs,  and  one  man  to  thrash  them  and 
keep  some  sort  of  order  while  they  worried 
each  other  and  raised  an  outrageous  noise, 
on  account  of  their  uncomfortable,  tumbled- 
together  condition.  And  last,  the  skin  boat, 
flying-light,  with  only  the  sleds  aboard  and 
one  man  to  steer,  the  whole  making  a  very 
extraordinary  show. 

Soon  after  the  boats  had  left,  while  we  were 

51 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

still  watching  the  tossing  fleet  from  the  pilot 
house  and  scanning  the  shore  with  reference  to 
a  landing-place,  we  noticed  three  dark  objects 
on  top  of  a  hummock  near  the  edge  of  the  ice, 
and  just  back  of  them  and  to  one  side  on  a  flat 
portion  of  the  ice,  a  group  of  black  dots.  These 
proved  to  be  three  natives  with  their  dog 
teams.  They  were  out  hunting  seals,  and  had 
descried  the  ship  with  their  sharp  eyes  and  now 
came  forward  to  gaze.  This  was  a  glad  discov 
ery  to  us,  and  no  doubt  still  more  so  to  the 
party  leaving  the  ship,  as  they  were  now  sure 
of  the  passable  state  of  the  ice,  and  would  have 
guides  with  local  knowledge  to  conduct  them 
to  the  land.  When  the  dogs  got  upon  the  ice, 
their  native  heath,  they  rolled  and  raced  about 
in  exuberant  sport.  The  rough  pack  was  home, 
sweet  home  to  them,  though  a  more  forbidding 
combination  of  sky,  rough  water,  ice,  and  driv 
ing  snow  could  hardly  be  imagined  by  the 
sunny  civilized  south. 

After  all  were  safely  landed  and  our  boats 
had  returned,  we  went  on  our  way,  while  the 
land  party,  busied  about  their  sled-packing  and 
dogs,  gradually  faded  in  the  snowy  gloom.  All 
seems  well  this  evening;  no  ice  is  in  sight  to  the 
northward,  and  the  jury-rudder  is  working  ex 
tremely  well. 


52 


IN  PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
En  route  southward,  to  Plover  Bay.] 

June  8.  Snowing  nearly  all  day.  Cleared 
towards  four  in  the  afternoon.  Spoke  the 
Helen  Mar;  had  taken  five  whales;  another 
had  already  nine.  Seven  other  whalers  in  sight, 
all  of  them  save  two  smoking  like  steamers. 
They  are  trying  out  their  abundant  blubber; 
in  danger  of  being  blubber-logged.  Saw  an  In 
dian  l  canoe  leaving  the  Helen  Mar  as  we  ap 
proached;  probably  had  been  trading,  the  sea 
being  smooth. 

Had  a  good  view  of  the  two  Diomedes;  the 
western  one  is  very  distinctly  glaciated,  nearly 
all  of  the  summit  being  comprehended  in  one 
beautiful  ice-fountain,  giving  it  a  craterlike 
form.  The  residual  glacial  action,  however, 
has  been  light,  comparatively,  here.  No  deep 
canons  putting  back  into  the  mountains,  most 
of  which  are  low.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to 
see  undoubted  traces  both  of  general  and  local 
glaciation  thus  far  north,  where  the  ground  is 
in  general  rather  low.  Came  up  to  the  ice-pack 
about  ten  in  the  evening,  so  turned  back  and 
lay  to. 

June  4-  Calm,  bland,  foggy  water,  glassy 
and  still  as  a  mill-pond.  Cleared  so  that  one 

1  Mr.  Muir  often  applies  this  term  to  the  Bering  Sea 
natives  in  general,  whether  Innuitg  or  Chukchis. 

53 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

could  see  a  mile  ahead  at  ten  o'clock,  and  we 
got  under  way.  Sun  nearly  clear  for  the  first 
day  since  coming  into  the  Arctic.  Mild,  too, 
for  it  is  45°  F.  at  noon;  even  seemed  hot.  The 
clouds  lifted  from  the  mountains,  showing 
their  bases  and  slopes  up  to  a  thousand  feet; 
summits  capped.  East  Cape  in  fine  view;  high 
headland  still  streaked  with  snow  nearly  to 
the  base;  summit  white  at  close  range.  All 
the  coast  for  at  least  two  hundred  miles  west 
of  East  Cape  shows  distinct  glaciation,  both 
general  and  local.  Many  glacier  fountains  well 
characterized.  Indian  village  off  here.  Were 
boarded  by  three  canoe  loads  of  Indian  seal 
hunters  from  East  Cape  village.  They  traded 
ivory  and  shoes,  called  "susy"  by  then-  inter 
preter.  We  were  anxious  to  tell  them  about  our 
sledge  party  and  inquired  of  one  who  spoke 
a  few  words  of  English  whether  any  of  their 
number  could  speak  good  English.  He  seemed 
to  think  us  very  unreasonable,  and  said,  "Me 
speak  good."  Got  a  female  eider  duck;  very 
fat.  In  one  of  the  canoes  there  was  a  very  large 
seal,  weighing  perhaps  four  hundred  pounds. 

This  has  been  by  far  the  most  beautiful  and 
gentle  of  our  Arctic  days,  the  water  perfectly 
glassy  and  with  no  swell,  mirroring  the  sky, 
which  shows  a  few  blue  cloudless  spots,  white 
as  satin  near  the  horizon,  of  beautiful  luster, 

54 


IN  PERIL  FROM  THE  PACK 

trying  to  the  eyes.  More  whalers  in  sight. 
Gulls  skimming  the  glassy  level.  Innumerable 
multitudes  of  eider  ducks,  the  snowy  shore, 
and  all  the  highest  mountains  cloud-capped  — 
a  rare  picture  and  perfectly  tranquil  and  peace 
ful!  God's  love  is  manifest  in  the  landscape  as 
in  a  face.  How  unlike  yesterday!  In  the  eve 
ning  a  long  approach  to  sunset,  a  red  sky  min 
gling  with  brown  and  white  of  the  ice-blink. 
Growing  colder  towards  midnight.  There  is  no 
night  at  all  now;  only  a  partial  gloaming; 
never,  even  in  cloudy  midnights,  too  dark  to 
read.  So  for  more  than  a  week.  Ice  in  sight, 
but  hope  to  pass  it  by  running  a  few  miles 
to  shore.  Are  now,  at  half-past  eleven  in  the 
evening,  beyond  St.  Lawrence  Bay.  Hope  to 
get  into  Plover  Bay  to-morrow  morning  at 
six  o'clock. 


CHAPTER  V 

A   CHUKCHI    ORATOR 

Steamer  Corwin, 
St.  Lawrence  Bay,  Siberia,  June  6,  1881. 

YESTERDAY  morning  at  half-past  one  o'clock, 
when  we  were  within  twenty-five  miles  of 
Plover  Bay,  where  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  re 
pair  our  rudder,  we  found  that  the  ice-pack 
was  crowding  us  closer  and  closer  inshore,  and 
that  in  our  partly  disabled  condition  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  proceed  farther.  Accordingly  we 
turned  back  and  put  into  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  to 
await  some  favorable  -movement  in  the  ice. 

We  dropped  anchor  at  half-past  seven  in  the 
morning  opposite  a  small  Chukchi  settlement. 
In  a  few  hours  the  wind  began  to  blow  fresh 
from  the  north,  steadily  increasing  in  force, 
until  at  eight  in  the  evening  it  was  blowing  a 
gale,  and  we  were  glad  that  we  were  in  a  good 
harbor  instead  of  being  out  at  sea,  slashing  and 
tumbling  about  with  a  broken  rudder  among 
the  wind-driven  ice.  It  also  rained  and  snowed 
most  of  the  afternoon,  the  blue  and  gray  sleet 
mingling  in  grand  uproar  with  the  white  scud 
swept  from  the  crests  of  the  waves,  making 
about  as  stormy  and  gloomy  an  atmosphere 

56 


A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

as  I  ever  had  the  fortune  to  breathe.  Now  and 
then  the  clouds  broke  and  lifted  their  ragged 
edges  high  enough  to  allow  the  mountains  along 
the  sides  and  around  the  head  of  the  bay  to  be 
dimly  seen,  not  so  dimly,  however,  as  to  hide 
the  traces  of  the  heavy  glaciation  to  which  they 
have  been  subjected.  This  long  bay,  as  shown 
by  its  trends,  its  relation  to  the  ice-fountains  at 
its  head  and  the  sculpture  of  its  walls,  is  a  gla 
cial  fiord  that  only  a  short  time  ago  was  the 
channel  of  a  glacier  that  poured  a  deep  and 
broad  flood  into  Bering  Sea,  in  company  with 
a  thousand  others  north  and  south  along  the 
Siberian  coast.  The  more  I  see  of  this  region 
the  more  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  all  of 
Bering  Sea  and  Strait  is  a  glacial  excavation. 

In  a  party  of  natives  that  came  aboard  soon 
after  we  had  dropped  anchor,  we  discovered 
the  remarkable  Chukchi  orator,  Jaroochah, 
whose  acquaintance  we  made  at  the  settlement 
on  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  during  our  first 
visit,  and  who  had  so  vividly  depicted  the  con 
dition  of  the  lost  whaler  Vigilant.  To-day,  after 
taking  up  a  favorable  position  in  the  pilot 
house,  he  far  surpassed  his  previous  efforts, 
pouring  forth  Chukchi  in  overwhelming  tor 
rents,  utterly  oblivious  of  the  presence  of  his 
rival,  the  howling  gale. 

During  a  sudden  pause  in  the  midst  of  his 

57 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

volcanic  eloquence  he  inquired  whether  we  had 
rum  to  trade  for  walrus  ivory,  whereupon  we 
explained,  in  total  abstinence  phrase,  that  rum 
was  very  bad  stuff  for  Chukchis,  and  by  way 
of  illustration  related  its  sad  effects  upon  the 
Eskimo  natives  of  St.  Lawrence  Island.  Nearly 
all  the  natives  we  have  thus  far  met  admitted 
very  readily  that  whiskey  was  not  good  for 
them.  But  Jaroochah  was  not  to  be  so  easily 
silenced,  for  he  at  once  began  an  anti-temper 
ance  argument  in  saloon-and-moderate-drinker 
style,  explaining  with  vehement  gestures  that 
some  whiskey  was  good,  some  bad;  that  he 
sometimes  drank  five  cupfuls  of  the.  good  arti 
cle  in  quick  succession,  the  effect  of  which  was 
greatly  to  augment  his  happiness,  while  out  of 
a  small  bottle  of  the  bad  one,  a  small  glass 
made  him  sick.  And  as  for  whiskey  or  rum 
causing  people  to  die,  he  knew,  he  said,  that 
that  was  a  lie,  for  he  had  drunk  much  himself, 
and  he  had  a  brother  who  had  enjoyed  a  great 
deal  of  whiskey  on  board  of  whalers  for  many 
years,  and  that  though  now  a  gray  old  man  he 
was  still  alive  and  happy. 

This  speech  was  warmly  applauded  by  his 
listening  companions,  indicating  a  public  opin 
ion  that  offers  but  little  hope  of  success  for 
the  efforts  of  temperance  societies  among  the 
Chukchis.  Captain  Hooper,  the  surgeon,  and 

58 


A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

myself  undertook  to  sketch  the  orator,  who, 
when  he  had  gravely  examined  our  efforts, 
laughed  boisterously  at  one  of  them,  which,  in 
truth,  was  a  slanderous  caricature  of  even  his 
countenance,  villainous  as  it  was. 

In  trading  his  ivory  for  supplies  of  some  sort, 
other  than  alcohol,  he  tried  to  extract  some 
trifling  article  above  what  had  been  agreed  on, 
when  the  trader  threatened  to  have  nothing 
further  to  do  with  him  on  account  of  the  trou 
ble  he  was  making.  This  set  the  old  chief  on 
his  dignity,  and  he  made  haste  to  declare  that 
he  was  a  good  and  honorable  man,  and  that  in 
case  the  trade  was  stopped  he  would  give  back 
all  he  had  received  and  go  home,  leaving  his 
ivory  on  the  deck  heedless  of  what  became  of 
it.  The  woman  of  the  party,  perhaps  eighteen 
years  of  age,  merry  and  good-looking,  went 
among  the  sailors  and  danced,  sang,  and  joked 
with  them. 

The  gale  increased  in  violence  up  to  noon 
to-day,  when  it  began  to  abate  slightly,  and 
this  evening  it  is  still  blowing  hard.  The  Cor- 
win  commenced  to  drag  her  anchor  shortly 
after  midnight,  when  another  that  was  kept  in 
readiness  was  let  go  with  plenty  of  chain, 
which  held,  so  that  we  rode  out  the  gale  in 
safety.  The  whalers  Francis  Palmer  and  Hi 
dalgo  came  into  the  bay  last  evening  from 
59 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

Bering  Strait  and  anchored  near  us.  This  morn 
ing  the  Hidalgo  had  vanished,  having  probably 
parted  her  cable. 

Last  evening  a  second  party  of  natives  came 
aboard,  having  made  then-  way  around  the 
head  of  the  bay  or  over  the  ice.  Both  parties 
remained  on  board  all  night  as  they  were  un 
able  to  reach  the  shore  in  their  light  skin  boats 
against  the  wind.  Being  curious  to  see  how 
they  were  enduring  the  cold,  I  went  on  deck 
early.  They  seemed  scarcely  to  feel  it  at  all, 
for  I  found  most  of  them  lying  on  the  deck 
amid  the  sludge  and  sleeping  soundly  in  the 
clothes  they  wore  during  the  day.  Three  of 
them  were  sleeping  on  the  broken  rudder, 
swept  by  the  icy  wind  and  sprinkled  with 
snow  and  fragments  of  ice  that  were  falling 
from  the  rigging,  their  heads  and  necks  being 
nearly  bare. 

I  inquired  why  their  reindeer  parkas  were 
made  without  hoods,  while  those  of  the  Eski 
mos  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  had  them;  observ 
ing  that  they  seemed  far  more  comfortable  in 
stormy  weather,  because  they  kept  the  head 
and  neck  warm  and  dry.  They  replied  that 
they  had  to  hunt  hard  and  look  quick  all 
about  them  for  a  living,  therefore  it  was  nec 
essary  to  keep  their  heads  free;  while  the  St. 
Lawrence  Eskimos  were  lazy,  and  could  indulge 

60 


A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

in  effeminate  habits.  They  gave  the  same 
reason  for  cutting  off  most  of  the  hair  close  to 
the  scalps,  while  the  women  wear  the  hair  long. 

One  of  their  number  was  very  dirty,  and 
Captain  Hooper,  who  is  becoming  interested 
in  glacial  studies,  declared  that  he  had  dis 
covered  two  terminal  moraines  in  his  ears. 
When  asked  why  he  did  not  wash  himself,  our 
interpreter  replied,  "  Because  he  is  an  old  fel 
low,  and  it  is  too  much  work  to  wash."  This 
was  given  with  an  air  of  having  explained  the 
matter  beyond  further  question.  Considering 
the  necessities  of  the  lives  they  lead,  most  of 
these  people  seem  remarkably  clean  and  well- 
dressed  and  well-behaved. 

The  old  orator  poured  forth  his  noisy  elo 
quence  late  and  early,  like  a  perennial  moun 
tain  spring,  some  of  his  deep  chest  tones  sound 
ing  in  the  storm  like  the  roar  of  a  lion.  He 
rolled  his  wolfish  eyes  and  tossed  his  brown 
skinny  limbs  in  a  frantic  storm  of  gestures, 
now  suddenly  foreshortening  himself  to  less 
than  half  his  height,  then  shooting  aloft  with 
jack-in-the-box  rapidity,  while  his  people 
looked  on  and  listened,  apparently  half  in  fear, 
half  in  admiration.  We  directed  the  interpreter 
to  tell  him  that  we  thought  him  a  good  man, 
and  were,  therefore,  concerned  lest  some  acci 
dent  might  befall  him  from  so  much  hard 
61 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

speaking.  The  Chukchis,  as  well  as  the  Eski 
mos  we  have  seen,  are  keenly  sensitive  to  ridi 
cule,  and  this  suggestion  disconcerted  him  for 
a  moment  and  made  a  sudden  pause.  However, 
he  quickly  recovered  and  got  under  way  again, 
like  a  wave  withdrawing  on  a  shelving  shore, 
only  to  advance  and  break  again  with  gathered 
force. 

The  chief  man  of  the  second  party  from  the 
other  side  of  the  bay  is  owner  of  a  herd  of  rein 
deer,  which  he  said  were  now  feeding  among 
the  mountains  at  a  distance  of  one  sleep  —  a 
day's  journey  —  from  the  head  of  a  bay  to  the 
south  of  here.  He  readily  indicated  the  posi 
tion  on  a  map  that  we  spread  before  him,  and 
offered  to  take  us  to  see  them  on  a  sled  drawn 
by  reindeer,  and  to  sell  us  as  many  skins  and 
as  much  meat  as  we  cared  to  buy.  When  we 
asked  how  many  reindeer  he  had,  all  who 
heard  the  question  laughed  at  the  idea  of 
counting  so  many.  "They  cover  a  big  moun 
tain,"  he  said  proudly,  "and  nobody  can  count 
them."  He  brought  a  lot  of  ivory  to  trade  for 
tobacco,  but  said  nothing  about  it  until  the 
afternoon.  Then  he  signified  his  readiness  for 
business  after  awakening  from  a  sound  sleep 
on  the  wet  icy  deck. 

Shortly  after  we  had  breakfasted,  the  rein 
deer  chief  having  intimated  that  he  and  his 

62 


A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

friends  were  hungry,  the  Captain  ordered  a 
large  pot  of  tea,  with  hardtack,  sugar  and 
molasses,  to  be  served  to  them  in  the  pilot 
house.  They  ate  with  dignified  deliberation, 
showing  no  unseemly  haste,  but  eating  rather 
like  people  accustomed  to  abundance.  Jaroo- 
chah,  who  could  hardly  stem  his  eloquence 
even  while  eating,  was  particular  about  having 
his  son  invited  in  to  share  the  meal;  also,  two 
boys  about  eight  years  old,  giving  as  a  reason, 
"they  are  little  ones."  We  also  called  in  a 
young  woman,  perhaps  about  eighteen  years 
old,  but  none  of  the  men  present  seemed  to 
care  whether  she  shared  with  them  or  not, 
and  when  we  inquired  the  cause  of  this  neglect, 
telling  them  that  white  men  always  served 
the  ladies  first,  Jaroochah  said  that  while  girls 
were  "little  fellows"  their  parents  looked  after 
them,  but  when  they  grew  big  they  went  away 
from  their  parents  with  "some  other  fellow," 
and  were  of  no  more  use  to  them  and  could 
look  out  for  themselves. 

Those  who  were  not  invited  to  this  meal  did 
not  seem  to  mind  it  much,  for  they  had  brought 
with  them  plenty  of  what  the  whalers  call 
"black  skin"  —  the  skin  of  the  right  whale  — 
which  is  about  an  inch  thick,  and  usually  has 
from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  of  blubber  at 
tached.  This  I  saw  them  eating  raw  with 
63 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

hearty  relish,  snow  and  sludge  the  only  sauce, 
cutting  off  angular  blocks  of  it  with  butcher- 
knives,  while  one  end  of  the  tough  black 
rubber-like  mass  was  being  held  in  the  left 
hand,  the  other  between  their  teeth.  Long  prac 
tice  enables  them  to  cut  off  mouthfuls  in  this 
way  without  cutting  their  lips,  although  they 
saw  their  long  knives  back  and  forth,  close  to 
then-  faces,  as  if  playing  the  violin.  They 
get  the  whale  skin  from  the  whalers,  except 
ing  the  little  they  procure  themselves.  They 
hunt  the  whale  now  with  lances  and  gear  of 
every  kind  bought  from  the  whalers,  and  some 
times  succeed  in  killing  a  good  many.  They 
eat  the  carcass,  and  save  the  bone  to  trade  to 
the  whalers,  who  are  eager  to  get  it. 

After  the  old  orator  left  the  steamer,  the 
reindeer  man  accused  him  of  being  "a  bad 
fellow,  like  a  dog."  He  evidently  was  afraid 
that  we  were  being  fooled  by  his  overwhelm 
ing  eloquence  into  believing  that  he  was  a 
great  man,  while  the  precious  truth  to  be  im 
pressed  upon  us  was,  that  he,  the  reindeer 
man,  whose  herd  covers  a  big  mountain,  was 
the  true  chief.  I  asked  his  son,  who  speaks  a 
little  English,  why  he  did  not  make  a  trip  to 
San  Francisco,  to  see  the  white  man's  big  town. 
He  replied,  as  many  a  civilized  man  does  under 
similar  circumstances,  that  he  had  a  little  boy, 
64 


A  CHUKCHI  ORATOR 

too  little  to  be  left,  and  too  little  to  leave  home, 
but  that  soon  he  would  be  a  big  fellow,  so  high, 
indicating  the  hoped-for  stature  with  his  hand, 
then  he  would  go  to  San  Francisco  on  some 
whale-ship,  to  see  where  all  the  big  ships  and 
good  whiskey  came  from. 

These  [Chukchis]  also  had  heard  the  story 
of  the  Vigilant.  The  reindeer  man's  son  is  go 
ing  with  us  to  Plover  Bay  to  look  after  some  of 
his  father's  debtors.  He  has  been  supplying 
them  with  tobacco  and  other  goods  on  credit, 
and  he  thought  it  time  they  were  paying  up. 
His  little  boy,  he  told  us,  was  sick  —  had  a 
hot,  sore  head  that  throbbed,  showing  with  his 
hand  how  it  beat  in  aching  pulses,  and  asked 
for  medicine,  which  the  surgeon  gave  him  with 
necessary  directions,  greatly  to  his  relief  of 
mind,  it  seemed. 

Around  the  shore  opposite  our  anchorage 
the  ground  is  rather  low,  where  the  ancient 
glacier  that  filled  the  bay  swept  over  in  smooth 
curves,  breaking  off  near  the  shore  [at]  an 
abrupt  wall  from  seventy  to  a  hundred  feet 
high.  Against  this  wall  the  prevailing  north 
winds  have  piled  heavy  drifts  of  snow  that 
curve  over  the  bluff  at  the  top  and  slope  out 
over  the  fixed  ice  along  the  shore  from  the 
base.  The  gale  has  been  loosening  and  driving 
out  past  the  vessel,  without  doing  us  any  harm, 

65 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

large  masses  of  the  ice,  capped  with  the  edge 
of  the  drift.  One  large  piece  drifted  close  past 
the  steamer  and  immediately  in  front  of  a  large 
skin  canoe  capable  of  carrying  thirty  men.  The 
canoe,  which  was  tied  to  the  stern  of  the  ship, 
we  thought  was  doomed  to  be  carried  away. 
The  owners  looked  wistfully  over  the  stern, 
watching  her  fate,  while  the  sailors  seemed  glad 
of  the  bit  of  excitement  caused  by  the  hope 
of  an  accident  that  would  cost  them  nothing. 
Greatly  to  our  surprise,  however,  when  the 
berg,  rough  and  craggy,  ten  or  twelve  feet 
high,  struck  her  bow,  she  climbed  up  over  the 
top  of  it,  and,  dipping  on  the  other  side,  glided 
down  with  a  graceful,  launching  swoop  into 
the  water,  like  a  living  thing,  wholly  uninjured. 
The  sealskin  buffer,  fixed  in  front  and  inflated 
like  a  bladder,  no  doubt  greatly  facilitated  her 
rise.  She  was  tied  by  a  line  of  walrus  hide. 

Now  that  the  wind  is  abating,  we  hope  to 
get  away  from  here  to-morrow  morning,  and 
expect  to  find  most  of  the  ice  that  stopped  our 
progress  yesterday  broken  up  and  driven 
southward  far  enough  to  enable  us  to  reach 
Plover  Bay  without  further  difficulty. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Plover  Bay,  June  15, 1881. 

WE  left  our  anchorage  in  St.  Lawrence  Bay 
at  four  in  the  morning,  June  7,  and  steered 
once  more  for  Plover  Bay.  The  norther  that 
had  been  blowing  so  long  gave  place  to  a  light 
southerly  breeze,  and  a  gentle  dusting  of  snow 
was  falling.  In  the  afternoon  the  sea  became 
smooth  and  glassy  as  a  mountain  lake,  and  the 
clouds  lifted,  gradually  unveiling  the  Siberian 
coast  up  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains.  First 
the  black  bluffs,  standing  close  to  the  water, 
came  in  sight;  then  the  white  slopes,  and  then 
one  summit  after  another  until  a  continuous 
range  forty  or  fifty  miles  long  could  be  seen 
from  one  point  of  view,  forming  a  very  beauti 
ful  landscape.  Smooth,  dull,  dark  water  in  the 
foreground;  next,  a  broad  belt  of  ice  mostly 
white  like  snow,  with  numerous  masses  of  blue 
and  black  shade  among  its  jagged,  uplifted 
blocks.  Then  a  strip  of  comparatively  low 
shore,  black  and  gray;  and  back  of  that  the 
pure  white  mountains,  with  only  here  and  there 
dark  spots,  where  the  rock  faces  are  too  steep 
67 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

for  snow  to  lie  upon.  Sharp  peaks  were  seen, 
fluted  by  avalanches;  glacier  wombs,  delicate 
in  curve  and  outline  as  shells;  rounded,  over- 
swept  brows  and  domes,  and  long,  withdraw 
ing  valleys  leading  back  into  the  highest  alpine 
groups,  whence  flowed  noble  glaciers  in  im 
posing  ranks  into  what  is  now  Bering  Sea. 

We  had  hoped  the  gale  had  broken  and 
driven  away  the  floe  that  barred  our  way  on 
the  fifth  [of  June],  but  while  yet  thirty  miles 
from  the  entrance  of  the  bay  we  were  again 
stopped  by  an  immense  field  of  heavy  ice  that 
stretched  from  the  shore  southeastward  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach.  We  pushed  slowly  into 
the  edge  of  it  a  few  miles,  looking  for  some 
opening,  but  the  man  in  the;  crow's  nest  re 
ported  it  all  solid  ahead  and  no  water  in  sight. 
We  thereupon  steamed  out  and  steered  across 
to  St.  Lawrence  Island  to  bide  our  time. 

While  sailing  amid  the  loose  blocks  of  ice 
that  form  the  edge  of  the  pack,  we  saw  a  wal 
rus,  and  soon  afterward  a  second  one  with 
its  young.  The  Captain  shot  and  killed  the 
mother  from  the  pilot-house,  and  the  dinghey 
was  lowered  to  tow  it  alongside.  The  eyes  of 
our  Indian  passengers  sparkled  with  delight 
in  expectation  of  good  meat  after  enduring 
poor  fare  aboard  the  ship.  After  floating  for 
eight  or  ten  minutes  she  sank  to  the  bottom 

68 


ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

and  was  lost  —  a  sad  fate  and  a  luckless 
deed. 

It  was  pitiful  to  see  the  young  one  swim 
ming  around  its  dying  mother,  heeding  neither 
the  ship  nor  the  boat.  They  are  said  to  be 
very  affectionate  and  bold  in  the  defense  of  one 
another  against  every  enemy  whatever.  We 
have  as  yet  seen  but  few,  though  in  some  places 
they  are  found  in  countless  thousands.  Many 
vessels  are  exclusively  employed  in  killing 
them  on  the  eastern  Greenland  coast,  and  along 
some  portions  of  the  coast  of  Asia.  Here  also, 
the  whalers,  when  they  have  poor  success  in 
whaling,  devote  themselves  to  walrus  hunting, 
both  for  the  oil  they  yield  and  for  the  valuable 
ivory.  The  latter  is  worth  from  forty  to  sev 
enty  cents  per  pound  in  San  Francisco,  and 
a  pair  of  large  tusks  weighs  from  eight  to  ten 
pounds.  v 

Along  all  the  coasts,  both  of  Asia  and  of 
America,  the  natives  hunt  and  kill  this  ani 
mal,  which  to  them  is  hardly  less  important 
for  food  and  other  uses  than  the  seals.  A 
large  walrus  is  said  to  weigh  from  one  to  two 
tons.  Its  tough  hide  is  used  for  cordage,  and  to 
cover  canoes.  The  flesh  is  excellent,  while  the 
ivory  formerly  was  employed  for  spear  heads 
and  other  uses,  and  is  now  an  important  article 
of  trade  for  guns,  ammunition,  calico,  bread, 
69 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

flour,  molasses,  etc.  The  natives  now  kill  a 
good  many  whales,  having  obtained  lances 
and  harpoons  from  the  whites.  Bone,  in  good 
years,  is  more  important  than  the  ivory,  and 
furs  are  traded,  also,  in  considerable  quantity. 
By  all  these  means  they  obtain  more  of  the 
white  man's  goods  than  is  well  used.  They 
probably  were  better  off  before  they  were  pos 
sessed  of  a  single  civilized  "blessing  —  so  many 
are  the  evils  accompanying  them! 

Our  Chukchi  passenger  does  not  appear  to 
entertain  a  very  good  opinion  of  the  St.  Law 
rence  natives.  He  advised  the  Captain  to  keep 
a  close  watch  of  those  he  allowed  to  come 
aboard.  We  asked  him  to-day  the  Chukchi 
name  of  ice,  which  he  gave  as  "eigleegle." 
When  we  said  that  another  of  his  people  called 
it  "tingting,"  he  replied  that  that  was  the 
way  poor  common  people  spoke  the  word,  but 
that  rich  people,  the  upper  aristocratic  class 
to  which  he  belonged,  called  it  "eigleegle." 
His  father,  being  a  rich  man,  had  three  wives; 
most  of  his  tribe,  he  said,  have  only  one. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  still 
more  than  an  hour's  run  from  St.  Lawrence 
Island,  though  according  to  reckoning  we 
should  have  reached  the  northeast  end  of  the 
island  at  eight  o'clock.  We  had  been  carried 
north  about  sixteen  miles,  since  leaving  St. 
70 


ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

Lawrence  Bay,  by  the  current  setting  through 
the  Strait.  The  water,  having  been  driven 
south  by  the  north  gale,  was  pouring  north 
with  greater  velocity  than  ordinary.  The  sky 
was  a  mass  of  dark,  grainless  cloud,  banded 
slightly  near  the  northwest  horizon;  one  band, 
a  degree  in  breadth  above  the  sun,  was  deep 
indigo,  with  a  few  short  streaks  of  orange  and 
red.  We  have  not  seen  a  star  since  leaving  San 
Francisco,  and  have  seen  the  sun  perfectly 
cloudless  only  once!  We  came  to  anchor  near 
the  northwest  end  of  the  island  about  mid 
night. 

The  next  day,  the  eighth  of  June,  was  calm 
and  mild.  A  canoe  with  ten  men  and  women 
came  alongside  this  morning,  just  arrived  from 
Plover  Bay,  on  their  way  home.  They  made 
signs  of  weariness,  having  pulled  hard  against 
this  heavy  current.  The  distance  is  fifty  miles. 
It  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  they  manage 
to  find  their  way  in  thick  weather,  when  it  is 
difficult  enough  for  seamen  with  charts  and 
compass. 

In  trying  to  account  for  the  observed  sim 
ilarity  between  the  peoples  of  the  opposite 
shores  of  Asia  and  America,  and  the  faunas 
and  floras,  scientists  have  long  been  combating 
a  difficulty  that  does  not  exist  save  in  their  own 
minds.  They  have  suggested  that  canoes  and 
71 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN  < 

ships  from  both  shores  either  were  wrecked 
and  drifted  from  one  to  the  other,  or  that 
natives  crossed  on  the  ice  which  every  year 
fills  Bering  Strait.  As  to-day,  so  from  time  im 
memorial  canoes  have  crossed  for  trade  or 
mere  pleasure,  steering  by  the  swell  of  the  sea 
when  out  of  sight  of  land.  As  to  crossing  on  the 
ice,  the  natives  tell  me  that  they  frequently 
go  with  their  dog-sleds  from  the  Siberian  side 
to  the  Diomedes,  those  half-way  houses  along 
the  route,  but  seldom  or  never  from  the  Dio 
medes  to  the  American  side,  on  account  of 
the  movements  of  the  ice.  But,  though  both 
means  of  communication,  assumed  to  account 
for  distribution  as  it  is  found  to  exist  to-day, 
were  left  out,  land  communication  in  any  case 
undoubtedly  existed,  just  previous  to  the  gla 
cial  period,  as  far  south  as  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
and  northward  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Strait. 

While  groping  in  the  dense  fogs  that  hang 
over  this  region,  sailors  find  their  way  at  times 
by  the  flight  of  the  innumerable  sea-birds  that 
come  and  go  from  the  sea  to  the  shore.  The 
direction,  at  least,  of  the  land  is  indicated, 
which  is  very  important  in  the  case  of  small 
islands.  How  the  birds  find  their  way  is  a 
mystery. 

This  canoe  alongside  was  "two  sleeps"  in 
making  the  passage.  Time,  I  suppose,  is  reck- 

72 


ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

oned  by  sleeps  during  summer,  as  there  is  no 
night  and  only  one  day.  They  at  once  began  to 
trade  eagerly,  seeming  to  fear  that  they  would 
be  left  unvisited,  now  that  the  whalers  have 
all  gone  to  the  Arctic.  In  the  forenoon,  after 
the  natives  had  left,  we  took  advantage  of  the 
calm  weather  to  go  in  search  of  the  wrecked 
Lolita,  which  went  ashore  last  fall  a  few  miles 
to  the  north  of  here.  On  the  way  we  passed 
through  a  good  deal  of  ice  in  flat  cakes  that 
had  been  formed  in  a  deep  still  bay,  sheltered 
from  floating  ice  which  jams  and  packs  it.  This 
ice  did  not  seem  to  be  more  than  two  or  three 
feet  thick,  possibly  the  depth  to  which  it  froze 
last  winter  less  the  amount  melted  and  evapo 
rated  since  spring  commenced. 

Walruses,  in  groups  numbering  from  two  to 
fifty,  were  lying  on  cakes  of  ice.  They  were  too 
shy,  however,  to  be  approached  within  shoot 
ing  range,  though  many  attempts  were  made. 
Some  of  the  animals  were  as  bulky,  apparently, 
as  oxen.  They  would  awaken  at  the  sound  of 
the  vessel  crunching  through  the  loose  ice,  lift 
their  heads  and  rear  as  high  as  possible,  then 
drop  or  plunge  into  the  water.  The  ponderous 
fellows  took  headers  in  large  groups;  twenty 
pairs  of  flippers  sometimes  were  in  the  air  at 
once.  They  can  stay  under  water  five  or  six 
minutes,  then  come  up  to  blow.  If  they  are 
73 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

near  the  ship  they  dive  again  instantly,  going 
down  like  porpoises,  always  exposing  a  large 
curving  mass  of  their  body  while  dropping  their 
heads,  and,  lastly,  their  flippers  are  stretched 
aloft  for  an  instant.  Sometimes  they  show 
fight,  make  combined  attacks  on  boats,  and 
defend  one  another  bravely.  The  cakes  on 
which  they  congregate  are  of  course  very  dirty, 
and  show  to  a  great  distance.  Since  they  soon 
sink  when  killed  in  the  water,  they  are  hunted 
mostly  on  the  ice,  and,  when  it  is  rough  and 
hummocky,  are  easily  approached. 

We  were  not  successful  in  finding  the  Lolita, 
so  we  steamed  back  to  our  anchorage  in  the  lee 
of  a  high  bluff  near  the  Eskimo  village.  Soon 
three  or  four  canoes  came  alongside,  loaded 
with  furs,  ivory,  and  whalebone.  Molasses, 
which  they  carry  away  in  bladders  and  seal 
skins,  is  with  them  a  favorite  article  of  trade. 
Mixed  with  flour  and  blocks  of  "black  skin,"  it 
is  esteemed,  by  Eskimo  palates,  a  dish  fit  for 
the  gods.  A  group  of  listeners  laughed  heartily 
when  I  described  a  mixture  that  I  thought 
would  be  to  their  taste.  They  smacked  their 
lips,  and  shouted  "yes!  yes!"  One  brought  as 
a  present  to  our  Chukchi,  the  reindeer  man's 
son,  a  chunk  of  "black  skin"  that,  in  color  and 
odor,  seemed  to  be  more  than  a  year  old.  He 
no  doubt  judged  that  our  Chukchi,  if  not 
74 


ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

starving,  was  at  least  faring  poorly  on  civilized 
trash. 

A  study  of  the  different  Eskimo  faces,  while 
important  trades  were  pending,  was  very  inter 
esting.  They  are  better  behaved  than  white 
men,  not  half  so  greedy,  shameless,  or  dishon 
est.  I  made  a  few  sketches  of  marked  faces. 
One,  who  received  a  fathom  of  calico  more 
than  was  agreed  upon,  seemed  extravagantly 
delighted  and  grateful.  He  was  lost  in  admi 
ration  of  the  Captain,  whose  hand  he  shook 
heartily. 

We  continued  at  anchor  here  the  following 
day,  June  9.  It  was  snowing  and  the  decks 
were  sloppy.  Several  canoe  loads  of  Eskimos 
came  aboard,  and  there  was  a  brisk,  trade  in 
furs,  mostly  reindeer  hides  and  parkas  for  win 
ter  use;  also  fox  [skins]  and  some  whalebone 
and  walrus  ivory.  Flour  and  molasses  were  the 
articles  most  in  demand.  Some  of  the  women, 
heedless  of  the  weather,  brought  their  boys, 
girls,  and  babies.  One  little  thing,  that  the 
proud  mother  held  up  for  our  admiration, 
smiled  delightfully,  exposing  her  two  precious 
new  teeth.  No  happier  baby  could  be  found 
in  warm  parlors,  where  loving  attendants 
anticipate  every  want  and  the  looms  of  the 
world  afford  their  best  in  the  way  of  soft 
fabrics.  She  looked  gayly  out  at  the  strange 
75 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

colors  about  her  from  her  bit  of  a  fur  bag,  and 
when  she  fell  asleep,  her  mother  laid  her  upon 
three  oars  that  were  set  side  by  side  across  the 
canoe.  The  snowflakes  fell  on  her  face,  yet 
she  slept  soundly  for  hours  while  I  watched 
her,  and  she  never  cried.  All  the  youngsters 
had  to  be  furnished  with  a  little  bread  which 
both  fathers  and  mothers  begged  for  them, 
saying,  "He  little  fellow,  little  fellow." 

Four  walrus  heads  were  brought  aboard  and 
the  ivory  sold,  while  the  natives,  men  and 
women,  sat  down  to  dine  on  them  with 
butcher-knives.  They  cut  off  the  flesh  and  ate 
it  raw,  apparently  with  good  relish.  As  usual, 
each  mouthful  was  cut  off  while  held  between 
the  teeth.  To  our  surprise  they  never  cut 
themselves.  They  seemed  to  enjoy  selecting 
tidbits  from  different  parts  of  the  head,  turn 
ing  it  over  frequently  and  examining  pieces  here 
and  there,  like  a  family  leisurely  finishing  the 
wrecked  hull  of  a  last  day's  dinner  turkey. 

These  people  interest  me  greatly,  and  it  is 
worth  coming  far  to  know  them,  however 
slightly.  The  smile,  or,  rather,  broad  grin  of 
that  Eskimo  baby  went  directly  to  my  heart, 
and  I  shall  remember  it  as  long  as  I  live.  When 
its  features  had  subsided  into  perfect  repose, 
the  laugh  gone  from  its  dark  eyes,  and  the  lips 
closed  over  its  two  teeth,  I  could  make  its 
76 


ESKIMOS  AND  WALRUS 

sweet  smile  bloom  out  again  as  often  as  I 
nodded  and  chirruped  to  it.  Heaven  bless  it! 
Some  of  the  boys,  too,  lads  from  eight  to  twelve 
years  of  age,  were  well-behaved,  bashful,  and 
usually  laughed  and  turned  away  their  faces 
when  looked  at.  But  there  was  a  response  in 
their  eyes  which  made  you  feel  that  they  are 
your  very  brothers. 


CHAPTER  VII 

AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
Plover  Bay,  June  15, 1881.] 

A  LITTLE  before  four  o'clock  the  next  morn 
ing,  June  10,  I  was  awakened  by  the  officer  of 
the  deck  coming  into  the  cabin  and  reporting 
that  the  weather  was  densely  foggy,  and  that 
ice  in  large  masses  was  crowding  down  upon  us, 
which  meant  "The  Philistines  be  upon  thee, 
Samson!"  Shortly  afterward,  the  first  mass 
struck  the  ship  and  made  her  tremble  in  every 
joint;  then  another  and  another,  in  quick  suc 
cession,  while  the  anchor  was  being  hurriedly 
raised.  The  situation  in  which  we  suddenly 
found  ourselves  was  quite  serious.  The  ice,  had 
it  been  like  that  about  the  ship  of  the  Ancient 
Mariner,  "here  and  there  and  all  around," 
would  have  raised  but  little  apprehension. 
But  it  was  only  on  one  side  of  us,  while  a  rocky 
beach  was  close  by  on  the  other,  and  against 
this  beach  in  our  disabled  condition  the  ice 
was  steadily  driving  us.  Whether  backing  or 
going  ahead  in  so  crowded  a  bit  of  water,  the 
result  for  some  time  was  only  so  many  shoves 
toward  shore. 

78 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

At  length  a  block  of  small  size,  twenty  or 
thirty  feet  in  diameter,  drifted  in  between  the 
Corwin  and  the  shore,  and  by  steaming  against 
it  and  striking  it  on  the  landward  bow  she 
glinted  around,  head  to  the  pack,  and  an  open 
ing  allowed  her  to  enter  a  little  distance.  This 
was  gradually  increased  by  stopping  and  start 
ing  until  we  were  safe  in  the  middle  of  it. 
Watching  the  compass  and  constantly  taking 
soundings,  we  traced  the  edge  of  the  pack,  and 
in  an  hour  or  two  made  our  escape  into  open 
water. 

After  the  fog  lifted  we  went  again  in  search 
of  the  Lolita,  and  discovered  her  five  or  six 
miles  below  the  Eskimo  village.  Dropping  an 
chor  at  the  edge  of  a  sheet  of  firm  shore-ice,  we 
went  across  it  to  the  wreck  to  see  whether  we 
could  not  get  some  pintles  from  it  for  our  rud 
der.  We  found  her  rudder  had  been  carried 
away,  but  procured  some  useful  iron,  blocks, 
tackle,  spars,  etc. ;  also,  two  barrels  of  oil  which 
the  natives  had  not  yet  appropriated.  The 
transportation  of  these  stores  to  the  ship  over 
ice,  covered  with  sludge  and  full  of  dangerous 
holes,  made  a  busy  day  for  the  sailors. 

Back  a  hundred  yards  from  the  beach  I 

found  a  few  hints  of  the  coming  spring,  though 

most  of  the  ground  is  still  covered  with  snow. 

The  dwarf  willow  is  beginning  to  put  out  its 

79 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

catkins,  and  a  few  buds  of  saxifrages,  erigerons, 
and  heathworts  are  beginning  to  swell.  The 
bulk  of  the  vegetation  is  composed  of  mosses 
and  lichens.  Half  a  mile  from  the  wreck 
there  is  a  deserted  Eskimo  village.  All  its 
inhabitants  are  said  to  have  died  of  famine 
two  winters  ago.  The  traces  of  both  local  and 
general  glaciation  are  particularly  clear  and 
telling  on  this  island. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  weather  being  calm  and 
mild,  we  succeeded  in  mending  and  shipping 
the  rudder,  and  the  next  morning  we  set  out  yet 
again  for  Plover  Bay,  where  we  now  are,  having 
arrived  about  midnight  on  the  eleventh.  The 
men  have  been  busy  sawing  and  blasting  a  sort 
of  slip  in  the  ice  for  the  ship  that  she  may  be 
secure  from  drift  ice  and  well  situated  for  load 
ing  the  coal  that  is  piled  on  the  shore  opposite 
here.  The  coal  belongs  to  the  Russians.  In 
loading,  the  coal  was  first  stowed  well  forward 
in  order  to  lift  the  stern  high  enough  out  of 
water  to  enable  us  to  make  the  additional  re 
pairs  required  on  the  rudder,  since  we  cannot 
find  access  to  a  beach  smooth  enough  to  lay 
her  on. 

The  Indians  here  are  very  poor.  They  have 
offered  nothing  to  trade.  With  a  group  of  men 
and  women  that  came  to  the  ship  a  few  morn 
ings  ago  there  was  a  half-breed  girl  about  two 

80 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

years  old.  She  had  light-brown  hair,  regular 
European  features,  and  was  very  fair  and  hand 
some.  Her  mother,  a  Chukchi,  died  in  child 
birth,  and  the  natives  killed  her  father.  She 
is  plump,  red-cheeked,  and  in  every  way  a  pic 
ture  of  health.  That  in  a  Chukchi  hut,  nursed 
by  a  Chukchi  mother-in-law,  and  on  Chukchi 
food,  a  half-European  girl  can  be  so  beauti 
ful,  well-behaved,  happy,  and  healthy  is  very 
notable. 

On  the  twelfth  of  June  we  had  snow,  rain 
and  sleet  nearly  all  day.  The  view  up  the  inlet 
was  very  striking  —  lofty  mountains  on  both 
sides  rising  from  the  level  of  the  water,  and 
proclaiming  in  telling  characters  the  story  of 
the  inlet's  creation  by  glaciers  that  have  but 
lately  vanished.  Most  of  the  slopes  and  prec 
ipices  seemed  particularly  dreary,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  trees,  but  of  vegeta 
tion  of  any  kind  in  any  appreciable  amount. 
No  bits  of  shelf  gardens  were  to  be  seen,  though 
not  wholly  wanting  when  we  came  to  climb, 
for  I  discovered  some  lovely  garden  spots  with 
a  tellima  and  anemone  in  full  bloom.  [The 
vegetation  was]  very  dwarfed,  and  sparse,  and 
scattered.  No  green  meadow-hollows.  The 
rock  was  fast  disintegrating,  and  all  the  moun 
tains  appeared  in  general  views  like  piles  of 
loose  stones  dumped  from  the  clouds.  Plover 
81 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

Bay l  takes  its  name  from  H.M.S.  Plover,  which 
passed  the  winter  of  1848-49  here  while  on  a 
cruise  in  search  of  Franklin.  It  is  a  glacial  fiord, 
which  in  the  height  of  its  walls  is  more  Yosemite- 
like  than  any  I  have  yet  seen  in  Siberia. 

In  the  afternoon  Dr.  Rosse  and  I  set  out 
across  the  ice  to  the  cliffs.  We  found  a  great 
many  seal  holes  and  cracks  of  a  dangerous 
kind,  and  a  good  deal  of  water  on  top  of  the  ice 
that  made  the  walking  very  sloppy.  There  were 
dog-sled  tracks  trending  up  and  down  the  inlet. 
The  ice  is  broken  along  the  shore  by  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  tides,  but  we  made  out  to  cross 
on  some  large  cakes  wedged  together.  Just  be 
fore  we  reached  the  edge  of  rocks,  in  scanning 
the  ruinous,  crumbling  face  of  the  cliffs  that 
here  are  between  two  and  three  thousand  feet 
high,  I  noticed  an  outstanding  buttress  harder 
and  more  compact  in  cleavage  than  the  rest, 
and  very  obviously  grooved,  polished,  and 
scratched  by  the  main  vanished  glacier  that 
once  filled  all  the  fiord.  Up  to  this  point  we 
climbed,  and  found  several  other  spots  of  the 
old  glacial  surface  not  yet  weathered  off.  This 
is  the  first  I  have  seen  of  this  kind  of  glacial 
traces. 

On  the  thirteenth  the  whaler  Thomas  Pope  2 

1  Called  Providence  Bay  on  recent  maps. 

2  Captain  M.  V.  B.  Millard. 

82 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

arrived  here  and  anchored  to  the  ice  near  us. 
Getting  everything  in  trim  for  the  return  voy 
age,  having  already  taken  all  the  [whale]-oil 
she  can  carry.  All  the  fleet  are  doing  well  this 
year,  or,  as  the  natives  express  it,  they  are  get 
ting  a  "big  grease." 

[According  to  brief  entries  in  Muir's  journal 
the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  of  June 
were  spent  aboard  the  Corwin,  writing  personal 
letters  and  several  communications  to  the  "San 
Francisco  Bulletin."  From  Captain  Hooper's 
report  of  the  cruise  of  the  Corwin,  the  follow 
ing  interesting  record  of  events  during  the  in 
terval  is  extracted :  — 

On  the  fourteenth  we  worked  all  day,  drawing 
coal  on  the  sleds,  assisted  by  the  natives  and  two 
sleds  with  three  dogs  each,  but  the  rapidly  melting 
ice  made  it  very  tedious.  On  the  fifteenth  we  con 
tinued  work,  although  the  softness  of  the  ice  com 
pelled  us  to  reduce  the  loads  to  one-half  their 
former  size.  About  four  in  the  afternoon  a  slight  roll 
of  the  vessel  was  perceptible,  indicating  a  swell 
coming  in  from  the  outside.  At  the  same  time  a 
slight  undulating  motion  of  the  ice  was  observed. 
This  was  followed  by  cracks  in  the  ice  running  in 
every  direction,  and  we  had  barely  time  to  take  in 
our  ice  anchors,  call  our  men  on  board,  and  take 
the  Thomas  Pope  in  tow  before  the  ice  was  all 
broken  and  in  motion  and  rapidly  drifting  toward 
the  mouth  of  the  bay.  At  first  it  looked  as  if  we 
might  have  to  go  to  sea  to  avoid  it.  The  wind  by 
83 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE   CORWIN 

this  time  was  blowing  fresh  from  the  northeast  with 
a  thick  snow-storm,  and,  judging  from  the  roll  com 
ing  into  the  bay,  a  heavy  sea  must  be  running. 
Added  to  this  was  the  fact  of  the  sea  being  filled 
with  large  fields  of  heavy  drift  ice,  making  the  pros 
pect  anything  but  a  pleasing  one.  After  lying  off 
outside  the  ice  for  an  hour  or  two  and  just  when  it 
seemed  as  if  our  only  hope  was  in  putting  to  sea, 
Captain  Millard  reported  from  the  masthead  that 
the  whole  body  of  ice  had  started  offshore,  and  that 
if  we  could  get  in  through  it  we  could  find  good 
anchorage  in  clear  water.  Although  the  ice  was 
pitching  and  rolling  badly,  it  was  well  broken  up, 
and  we  determined  to  make  the  attempt,  and  suc 
ceeded  better  than  I  had  anticipated,  and  about 
midnight  we  came  out  into  clear  water,  and  an 
chored  near  the  shore  in  twelve  fathoms,  the 
Thomas  Pope  coming  to  just  outside  of  us  in 
twenty  fathoms. 

Muir's  journal  continues  with  the  following 
record  under  date  of  June  17:] 

Half -clear  in  the  morning,  foggy  in  the  after 
noon.  Left  Plover  Bay  at  six  in  the  morning 
with  Thomas  Pope  *  in  tow.  Left  her  at  the 
mouth  of  the  bay.  It  was  barred  with  rather 
heavy  ice,  which  was  heaving  in  curious  com 
motion  from  a  heavy  swell.  We  gave  and  re 
ceived  three  cheers  in  parting.  Have  had  a  very 

1  The  San  Francisco  Bulktin,  in  its  issue  of  July  13,  1881, 
noted  the  arrival  in  port  of  the  whaling  bark  Thomas  Pope 
with  a  series  of  letters  from  John  Muir. 

84 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

pleasant  time  with  Captains  Millard  and  Kelly. 
Very  telling  views  of  the  sculpture  of  the  moun 
tains  along  the  Bay,  at  its  head,  and  at  the 
mouth,  where  the  land-ice  flowed  into  the  one 
grand  glacier  that  filled  Bering  Strait  and  Sea. 
The  fronting  cliffs  of  the  sea  glacier  seem  to  be 
hardly  more  weathered  than  those  of  Plover 
Bay  and  adjacent  fiords. 

St.  Michael,  Alaska,  June  %Q,  1881. 

Sunshine  now  in  the  Far  North,  sunshine  all 
the  long  nightless  days!  ripe  and  mellow  and 
hazy,  like  that  which  feeds  the  fruits  and  vines! 
We  came  into  it  two  days  ago  when  we  were 
approaching  this  old-fashioned  Russian  trad 
ing  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  River. 
How  sweet  and  kindly  and  reviving  it  is  after 
so  long  a  burial  beneath  dark,  sleety  storm 
clouds!  For  a  whole  month  before  the  begin 
ning  of  this  bright  time,  it  snowed  every  day 
more  or  less,  perhaps  only  for  an  hour  or  two, 
or  all  the  twenty-four  hours;  not  one  day  on 
which  snow  did  not  fall  either  in  wet,  sleety 
blasts,  making  sludge  on  the  deck  and  rigging 
and  afterward  freezing  fast,  or  in  dry  crystals, 
blowing  away  as  fast  as  it  fell.  I  have  never 
before  seen  so  cloudy  a  month,  weather  so 
strangely  bewildering  and  depressing.  It  was 
all  one  stormy  day,  broken  here  and  there  by 
85 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

dim  gleams  of  sunlight,  but  never  so  dark  at 
midnight  that  we  could  not  read  ordinary 
print. 

The  general  effect  of  this  confusing  inter- 
blending  of  the  hours  of  day  and  night,  of  the 
quick  succession  of  howling  gales  that  we  en 
countered,  and  of  dull  black  clouds  dragging 
their  ragged,  drooping  edges  over  the  waves, 
was  very  depressing,  and  when,  at  length,  we 
found  ourselves  free  beneath  a  broad,  high  sky 
full  of  exhilarating  light,  we  seemed  to  have 
emerged  from  some  gloomy,  icy  cave.  How 
garish  and  blinding  the  light  seemed  to  us  then, 
and  how  bright  the  lily-spangles  that  flashed 
on  the  glassy  water!  With  what  rapture  we 
gazed  into  the  crimson  and  gold  of  the  mid 
night  sunsets! 

While  we  were  yet  fifty  miles  from  land  a 
small  gray  finch  came  aboard  and  flew  about 
the  rigging  while  we  watched  its  movements" 
and  listened  to  its  suggestive  notes  as  if  we  had 
never  seen  a  finch  since  the  days  of  our  merry 
truant  rambles  along  the  hedgerows.  A  few 
hours  later  a  burly,  dozing  bumblebee  came 
droning  around  the  pilot-house,  seeming  to 
bring  with  him  all  the  warm,  summery  gardens 
we  had  ever  seen. 

The  fourth  of  June  was  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  days  we  spent  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.   The 
86 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

water  was  smooth,  reflecting  a  tranquil,  pearl- 
gray  sky  with  spots  of  pure  azure  near  the 
zenith  and  a  belt  of  white  around  the  horizon 
that  shone  with  a  bright,  satiny  luster,  trying 
to  the  eyes  like  clear  sunshine.  Some  seven 
whale-ships  were  in  sight,  becalmed  with  their 
canvas  spread.  Chukchi  hunters  in  pursuit  of 
seals  were  gliding  about  in  light  skin-covered 
canoes,  and  gulls,  auks,  eider  ducks,  and  other 
water  birds  in  countless  multitudes  skimmed 
the  glassy  level,  while  in  the  background  of 
this  Arctic  picture  the  Siberian  coast,  white  as 
snow  could  make  it,  was  seen  sweeping  back 
in  fine,  fluent,  undulating  lines  to  a  chain  of 
mountains,  the  tops  of  which  were  veiled  in  the 
shining  sky.  A  few  snow  crystals  were  shaken 
down  from  a  black  cloud  towards  midnight, 
but  most  of  the  day  was  one  of  deep  peace,  in 
which  God's  love  was  manifest  as  in  a  coun 
tenance. 

The  average  temperature  for  most  of  the 
month  commencing  May  twentieth  has  been 
but  little  above  the  freezing  point,  the  maxi 
mum  about  45°  F.  To-day  the  temperature  in 
the  shade  at  noon  is  65°,  the  highest  since  leav 
ing  San  Francisco.  The  temperature  of  the 
water  in  Bering  Sea  and  Strait,  and  as  far  as  we 
have  gone  in  the  Arctic,  has  been  about  from 
29°  to  35°.  But  as  soon  as  we  approached 
87 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

within  fifty  miles  of  the  mouths  of  the  Yukon, 
the  temperature  changed  suddenly  to  42°. 

The  mirage  effects  we  have  witnessed  on  the 
cruise  thus  far  are  as  striking  as  any  I  ever  saw 
on  the  hot  American  desert.  Islands  and  head 
lands  seemed  to  float  in  the  air,  distorted  into 
the  most  unreal,  fantastic  forms  imaginable, 
while  the  individual  mountains  of  a  chain  along 
the  coast  appeared  to  dance  at  times  up  and 
down  with  a  rhythmic  motion,  in  the  tremu 
lous  refracting  atmosphere.  On  the  northeast 
side  of  Norton  Sound  I  saw  two  peaks,  each 
with  a  flat,  black  table  on  top,  looming  sud 
denly  up  and  sinking  again  alternately,  like 
boys  playing  see-saw  on  a  plank. 

The  trading  post  of  St.  Michael  was  estab 
lished  by  the  Russians  in  1833.  It  is  built  of 
drift  timber  derived  from  the  Yukon,  and  sit 
uated  on  a  low  bluff  of  lava  on  the  island  of  St. 
Michael,  about  sixty-five  miles  northeast  of  the 
northmost  of  the  Yukon  mouths.  The  fort  is 
composed  of  a  square  of  log  buildings  and  pali 
sades,  with  outlying  bastions  pierced  for  small 
cannon  and  musketry,  while  outside  the  fort 
there  are  a  few  small  buildings  and  a  Greek 
church,  reinforced  during  the  early  part  of  the 
summer  with  groups  of  tents  belonging  to  the 
Indians  and  the  traders.  The  fort  is  now  oc 
cupied  by  the  employees  of  the  Alaska  Com- 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

mercial  Company.  This  is  the  headquarters 
of  the  fur  traders  of  northern  and  central 
Alaska. 

The  W.estern  Fur  and  Trading  Company  has 
a  main  station  on  the  side  of  the  bay  about  three 
miles  from  here,  and  the  two  companies,  being 
in  close  competition,  have  brought  on  a  condi 
tion  of  the  fur  business  that  is  bitterly  bewailed 
by  the  sub-traders  located  along  the  Yukon  and 
its  numerous  tributaries.  Not  only  have  the 
splendid  profits  of  the  good  old  times  dimin 
ished  nearly  to  zero,  say  they,  but  the  big  prices 
paid  for  skins  have  spoiled  the  Indians,  making 
them  insolent,  lazy,  and  dangerous,  without 
conferring  any  substantial  benefit  upon  them. 
Since  they  can  now  procure  all  the  traders'  sup 
plies  they  need  for  fewer  skins  than  formerly, 
they  hunt  less,  and  spend  their  idle  hours  in 
gambling  and  quarreling. 

The  furs  and  skins  of  every  kind  derived 
annually  from  the  Yukon  and  Kuskoquim  re 
gions,  and  shipped  from  here,  are  said  to  be 
worth  from  eighty  thousand  to  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  trade  goods  are  brought 
to  this  point  from  San  Francisco  by  the  rival 
companies  in  June,  and  delivered  to  their 
agents,  by  whom  they  are  distributed  to  their 
traders  and  taken  up  the  rivers  to  the  different 
stations  in  the  interior  in  boats  towed  most  of 
89 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

the  way  by  small  stern-wheel  steamers.  Then, 
during  the  winter,  the  furs  are  collected  and 
brought  to  this  point  and  carried  to  San  Fran 
cisco  by  the  vessels  that  bring  the  goods  for  the 
next  season's  trade. 

On  the  nineteenth  instant  the  steamer  be 
longing  to  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Com 
pany  arrived  from  a  station  fifteen  hundred 
miles  up  the  river,  towing  three  large  boats 
laden  with  Indians  and  traders,  together  with 
the  last  year's  collection  of  furs.  After  they  had 
begun  to  set  up  their  tents  and  unload  the  furs, 
we  went  over  to  the  storerooms  of  the  Com 
pany  to  look  at  the  busy  throng.  They  formed 
a  strange,  wild  picture  on  the  rocky  beach;  the 
squaws  pitching  the  tents  and  cutting  armfuls 
of  dry  grass  to  lay  on  the  ground  as  a  lining 
for  fur  carpets ;  the  children  with  wild,  staring 
eyes  gazing  at  us,  or,  heedless  of  all  the  stir, 
playing  with  the  dogs;  groups  of  dandy  war 
riors,  arrayed  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
grim,  and  cruel,  and  coldly  dignified;  and  a 
busy  train  coming  and  going  between  the  ware 
house  and  the  boats,  storing  the  big  bundles 
of  shaggy  bearskins,  black  and  brown,  marten, 
mink,  fox,  beaver,  otter,  lynx,  moose,  wolf,  and 
wolverine,  many  of  them  with  claws  spread 
and  hair  on  end,  as  if  still  fighting  for  life.  They 
were  vividly  suggestive  of  the  far  wilderness 
90 


AT  PLOVER  BAY  AND  ST.  MICHAEL 

whence  they  came  —  its  mountains  and  val 
leys,  its  broad  grassy  plains  and  far-reaching 
rivers,  its  forests  and  its  bogs. 

The  Indians  seemed  to  me  the  wildest  ani 
mals  of  all.  The  traders  were  not  at  all  wild, 
save  in  dress,  but  rather  gentle  and  subdued 
in  manners  and  aspect,  like  half-paid  village 
ministers.  They  held  us  in  a  long  interesting 
conversation,  and  gave  us  many  valuable  facts 
concerning  the  heart  of  the  Yukon  country. 
Some  Indians  on  the  beach  were  basking  in  the 
yellow,  mellow  sun.  Herring  and  salmon  were 
hanging  upon  frames  or  lying  on  the  rocks  — 
a  lazy  abundance  of  food  that  discouraged 
thought  of  the  future. 

The  shores  here  are  crowded  with  immense 
shoals  of  herring,  and  the  Indians  are  lazily 
catching  just  enough  to  eat.  Those  we  had  for 
dinner  are  not  nearly  so  good  as  those  I  ate 
last  year  at  Cross  Sound.  The  Yukon  salmon, 
however,  are  now  in  excellent  condition,  and 
are  the  largest  by  far  that  I  have  seen.  Yet  the 
Yukon  Indians  suffer  severely  at  times  from 
famine,  though  they  might  dry  enough  in  less 
than  a  week  to  last  a  year. 

We  are  making  a  short  stay  here  to  take  on 

provisions,  and  intend  to  go  northward  again 

to-morrow  to  meet  the  search  party  that  we 

landed  near  Koliuchin  Island.    Another  de- 

91 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

lightful  sun-day  —  nearly  cloudless  and  with 
lily-spangles  on  the  bay.  The  temperature  was 
65°  F.  in  the  shade  at  noon.  The  birds  are 
nesting  and  the  plants  are  rapidly  coming  into 
bloom. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Near  the  mouth  of  Metchigme  Bay, 

On  the  west  side  of  Bering  Strait, 

June  27,  1881. 

AFTER  leaving  St.  Michael,  on  the  evening 
of  the  twenty-first,  we  crossed  Bering  Sea  to 
Plover  Bay  to  fill  our  coal-bunkers  from  a 
pile  belonging  to  His  Majesty,  the  Czar  of 
Russia. 

On  the  twenty-third  we  were  sailing  along 
the  north  side  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  against 
a  heavy  wind.  There  was  a  rough  sea  and  a 
clear  sky,  save  on  the  island.  I  had  a  tolerably 
clear  view  of  the  most  prominent  portion  of  the 
island  near  the  middle.  It  is  here  composed  of 
lava,  reddish  in  color  and  dotted  with  craters 
and  cones,  most  of  which  seem  recent,  though 
a  slight  amount  of  glaciation  of  a  local  kind  is 
visible.  About  three  hi  the  afternoon  we  came 
to  anchor  off  the  northwest  end  of  the  island 
opposite  the  village.  A  few  natives  came  aboard 
at  eight  o'clock. 

The  next  day  we  got  under  way  at  four  in 
the  morning,  going  east  along  the  south  side 
of  St.  Lawrence  Island.  The  norther  again  was 

93 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

blowing  as  hard  as  ever.  We  discovered  an 
Eskimo  village,  but  the  natives  were  mostly 
dead.  Coming  to  anchor  there  at  six  in  the 
evening,  we  went  ashore  and  met  a  few  Eski 
mos  who,  though  less  demonstrative,  seemed 
quite  as  glad  to  see  us  as  those  on  the  north 
west  end  of  the  island.  The  village,  as  we  ex 
amined  it  through  our  glasses,  seemed  so  still 
and  desolate,  we  began  to  fear  that,  like  some 
of  the  villages  on  the  north  side  of  the  island, 
not  a  soul  was  left  alive  in  it,  until  here  and 
there  a  native  was  discovered  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill  where  the  summer  houses  are. 

After  we  had  landed  from  the  life-boat,  two 
men  and  a  boy  came  running  down  to  meet  us 
and  took  us  up  to  the  two  inhabited  houses. 
They  all  gathered  about  us  from  scattered 
points  of  observation,  and  when  we  asked 
where  all  the  people  were  to  whom  the  other 
houses  belonged,  they  smiled  and  said,  "All 
mucky."  "All  gone."  " Dead?"  "Yes,  dead!" 
We  then  inquired  where  the  dead  people  were. 
They  pointed  back  of  the  houses  and  led  us 
to  eight  corpses  lying  on  the  rocky  ground. 
They  smiled  at  the  ghastly  spectacle  of  the 
grinning  skulls  and  bleached  bones  appearing 
through  the  brown,  shrunken  skin. 

Being  detained  on  the  twenty-fifth  by  the 
norther  which   was   still   blowing,    we  went 
94 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

ashore  after  breakfast,  and  had  a  long  walk 
through  graves,  back  to  noble  views  of  the  is 
land,  telling  the  grandeur  of  its  glaciation  by 
the  northern  ice-sheets.  Weighed  anchor  and 
steered  for  Plover  Bay  shortly  after  nine  in  the 
evening,  and  arrived  there  early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  twenty-sixth.  While  the  ship  was 
being  coaled,  I  climbed  the  east  wall  of  the 
fiord  three  or  four  miles  above  the  mouth, 
where  it  is  about  twenty-two  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and,  as  the  day  was 
clear,  I  obtained  capital  views  of  the  moun 
tains  on  both  sides  and  around  the  head  of  the 
fiord  among  the  numerous  ice-fountains  which, 
during  the  glacial  winter,  poured  their  tribute 
through  this  magnificent  channel  into  Bering 
Sea. 

When  the  glacier  that  formed  what  is  now 
called  Plover  Bay,  was  in  its  prime,  it  was 
about  thirty  miles  long  and  from  five  to  six 
miles  in  width  at  the  widest  portion  of  the 
trunk,  and  about  two  thousand  feet  deep.  It 
then  had  at  least  five  main  tributaries,  which, 
as  the  trunk  melted  towards  the  close  of  the 
ice  period,  became  independent  glaciers,  and 
these  again  were  melted  into  perhaps  seventy- 
five  or  more  small  residual  glaciers  from  less 
than  a  mile  to  several  miles  in  length,  all  of 
which,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  have  at  length 

95 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

vanished,  though  some  wasting  remnants  may 
still  linger  in  the  highest  and  best-protected 
fountains  above  the  head  of  the  fiord.  I  had 
a  fine  glissade  down  the  valley  of  a  tributary 
glacier  whose  terminal  moraines  show  the  same 
gradual  death  as  those  of  the  Sierra.  The 
mountains  hereabouts,  in  the  forms  of  the 
peaks,  ridges,  lake-basins,  bits  of  meadow,  and 
in  sculpture  and  aspects  in  general,  are  like 
those  of  the  high  Sierra  of  California  where  the 
rock  is  least  resisting. 

Snow  still  lingers  in  drift  patches  and  streaks 
and  avalanche  heaps  down  to  the  sea-level, 
while  there  is  but  little  depth  of  solid  snow  on 
the  highest  peaks  and  ridges,  so  that,  there 
being  no  warm,  sunny  base  of  gentle  slopes  and 
foothills,  no  varying  belts  of  climate,  this  re 
gion  as  a  whole  seems  to  consist  of  only  the 
storm-beaten  tops  of  mountains  shorn  off 
from  their  warm,  well-planted  bases.  Still  there 
are  spots  here  and  there,  where  the  snow  is 
melted,  that  are  already  cheered  with  about 
ten  species  of  plants  in  full  bloom :  anemones, 
buttercups,  primulas,  several  species  of  draba, 
purple  heathworts,  phlox  and  potentilla,  mak 
ing  charming  alpine  gardens,  but  too  small  and 
thinly  planted  to  show  at  a  distance  of  more 
than  a  few  yards,  while  trees  are  wholly  wanting. 

On  our  way  north  to-day  we  stopped  a  few 

96 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

minutes  opposite  a  small  native  settlement, 
six  or  eight  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the  mouth 
of  Metchigme  Bay,  in  search  of  Omniscot,  the 
rich  reindeer  owner,  whom  we  had  met  further 
up  the  coast  two  weeks  ago,  and  who  had  then 
promised  to  have  a  lot  of  deerskins  ready  for 
us  if  we  would  call  at  his  village. 

Some  of  the  natives,  coming  off  to  the 
steamer  to  trade,  informed  us  that  Omniscot 
lived  some  distance  up  the  bay  that  we  had 
just  passed,  and  one  of  them,  who  speaks  a 
little  English,  inquired  why  we  had  not  brought 
back  Omniscot's  son.  He  told  us  that,  he  was 
his  cousin  and  that  his  mother  was  crying 
about  him  last  night,  fearing  that  he  would 
never  come  back. 

We  informed  him  that  his  cousin  was  crazy 
and  had  tried  to  kill  himself,  but  that  he  was 
now  at  Plover  Bay  with  one  of  his  friends  and 
would  probably  be  home  soon.  This  young 
Omniscot,  whom  we  had  taken  aboard  at  St. 
Lawrence  Bay,  thinking  that  he  might  be  use 
ful  as  an  interpreter,  is  a  son  of  the  reindeer 
man  and  belongs  to  the  Chukchi  tribe.  We 
soon  came  to  see  that  we  had  a  troublesome 
passenger,  for  the  expression  of  his  eyes,  and 
the  nervous  dread  he  manifested  of  all  the  na 
tives  wherever  we  chanced  to  stop,  indicated 
some  form  of  insanity.  He  would  come  to  the 
97 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

door  of  the  cabin  to  warn  the  Captain  against 
the  people  of  every  village  that  we  were  ap 
proaching  as  likely  to  kill  us,  and  then  he 
would  hide  himself  below  deck  or  climb  for 
greater  safety  into  the  rigging. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  when  we  were  lying  at 
anchor  off  St.  Lawrence  Island,  he  offered  his 
rifle,  which  he  greatly  prized,  to  one  of  the 
officers,  saying  that  inasmuch  as  he  would  soon 
die  he  would  not  need  it.  He  also  sent  word  to 
the  Captain  that  he  would  soon  be  "mucky," 
but  came  to  the  cabin  door  shortly  afterward, 
with  nothing  unusual  apparent  in  his  face  or 
behavior,  and  began  a  discussion  concerning 
the  region  back  of  St.  Michael  as  a  location  for 
a  flock  of  reindeer.  He  thought  they  would 
do  well  there,  he  said,  and  that  his  father 
would  give  him  some  young  ones  to  make  a 
beginning,  which  he  could  take  over  in  some 
schooner,  and  that  they  would  get  plenty  of 
good  moss  to  eat  on  the  tundra,  and  multiply 
fast  until  they  became  a  big  herd  like  his 
father's,  so  big  that  nobody  could  count  them. 

In  three  or  four  hours  after  this  he  threw 
himself  overboard,  but  was  picked  up  and 
brought  on  deck.  Some  of  the  sailors  stripped 
off  his  wet  furs,  and  then  the  discovery  was 
made  that  before  throwing  himself  into  the  sea 
the  poor  fellow  had  stabbed  himself  in  the  left 
98 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

lung.  The  surgeon  dressed  his  wound  and  gave 
as  his  opinion  that  it  would  prove  fatal.  He 
was  doing  well,  however,  when  we  left  him, 
and  is  likely  to  recover.  The  Plover  Bay  na 
tives,  in  commenting  on  the  affair,  remarked 
that  the  St.  Lawrence  people  were  a  bad,  quar 
relsome  set,  and  always  kept  themselves  in 
some  sort  of  trouble. 

Having  procured  a  guide  from  among  the 
natives  that  came  aboard  here,  we  attempted 
to  reach  Omniscot's  village,  but  found  the  bay 
full  of  ice,  and  were  compelled  to  go  on  without 
our  winter  supply  of  deerskins,  hoping,  how 
ever,  to  be  able  to  get  them  on  the  east  coast. 

There  is  quite  a  large  Chukchi  settlement 
near  the  mouth  of  the  bay,  on  the  north  side. 
Seven  large  canoe-loads  of  the  population  came 
aboard,  making  quite  a  stir  on  our  little  ship. 
They  are  the  worst-looking  lot  of  Siberian  na 
tives  that  I  have  yet  seen,  though  there  are 
some  fine,  tall,  manly  fellows  amongst  them. 
Mr.  Nelson,  a  naturalist,  and  zealous  collector 
for  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  who  joined  us 
at  St.  Michael,  photographed  a  group  of  the 
most  villainous  of  the  men,  and  two  of  the 
women  whose  arms  were  elaborately  tattooed 
up  to  the  shoulders.  Their  faces  were  a  curi 
ous  study  while  they  were  trying  to  keep  still 
under  circumstances  so  extraordinary. 

99 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

The  glaciation  of  the  coast  here  is  recorded 
in  very  telling  characters,  the  movement  of  the 
ice  having  been  in  a  nearly  south-southwest 
direction.  There  is  also  a  considerable  deposit 
of  irregularly  stratified  sand  and  gravel  along 
this  part  of  the  coast.  For  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  it  rises  in  crumbling  bluffs  fifty  feet  high, 
and  makes  a  flat,  gently  sloping  margin,  from 
one  hundred  yards  to  several  miles  in  width; 
in  front  of  the  mountains.  The  bay,  moreover, 
is  nearly  closed  by  a  bar,  probably  of  the  same 
material.  The  weather  is  delightful,  clear  sun 
shine,  only  a  few  fleecy  wisps  of  cloud  in  the 
west,  and  the  water  still  as  a  mill-pond. 

June  28.  Anchored  an  hour  or  two  this  fore 
noon  at  the  west  Diomede,  and  landed  a  party 
to  make  observations  on  the  currents  and 
temperature  of  the  water  that  sets  through 
Bering  Strait.  Then  proceeded  on  our  way 
direct  to  Tapkan  to  seek  our  search  party.  The 
fine  weather  that  we  have  enjoyed  since  the 
day  before  our  arrival  at  St.  Michael  ended  in 
the  old,  dark,  gloomy  clouds  and  drizzling  fog 
on  reaching  the  Diomedes,  though  the  coast 
above  East  Cape  has  until  now  been  in  sight 
most  of  the  time  up  to  a  height  of  about  a 
thousand  feet. 

The  glaciation,  after  the  melting  of  the  ice- 
100 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

sheet,  has  been  light,  sculpturing  the  moun 
tains  into  shallow,  short  valleys  and  round 
ridges,  mostly  broad-backed.  The  valleys,  for 
the  most  part,  are  not  cut  down  to  the  sea. 
The  shore  seems  to  have  been  cut  off  by  the 
glacier  sheet  that  occupied  the  sea,  after  it  was 
too  shallow  to  flow  over  the  angle  of  land 
formed  by  East  Cape.  This  overflow  is  well- 
marked,  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  northwest 
of  the  Cape,  in  the  trends  of  the  ridges  and  val 
leys  as  far  back  as  I  could  see,  that  is,  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  the  shore.  The  north 
wind  is,  and  has  been,  blowing  for  twenty-four 
hours,  and  we  fear  that  we  will  soon  meet  with 
the  drifting  ice  from  the  main  polar  pack. 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Off  the  Chukchi  village  of  Tapkan, 

Near  Cape  Serdzekamen,  Siberia, 

June  29,  1881. 

We  arrived  here  about  eight  this  morning 
to  meet  the  search  party  that  we  landed  about 
a  month  ago,  near  Koliuchin  Island.  They  had 
been  waiting  for  us  nearly  two  weeks.  We  were 
unable  to  land  on  account  of  the  stormy 
weather,  but  after  waiting  about  two  hours  we 
saw  them  making  their  way  out  to  the  edge  of 
the  drift  ice,  which  extended  about  three  miles 
from  shore,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  difficulty 
they  reached  the  steamer  in  safety.  The  air 
101 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

was  gray  with  falling  snow,  and  the  north  wind 
was  blowing  hard,  dashing  heavy  swells,  with 
wild,  tumultuous  uproar,  against  jagged,  tum 
bling  ice  blocks  that  formed  the  edge  of  the 
pack.  The  life-boat  was  lowered  and  pulled  to 
the  edge  of  the  pack  and  a  line  was  thrown  from 
it  to  the  most  advanced  of  the  party,  who  was 
balancing  himself  among  the  heaving  bergs. 
This  line  was  made  fast  to  a  light  skin  boat  that 
the  party  had  pushed  out  over  the  ice  from  the 
shore,  and,  getting  into  it,  they  soon  managed 
to  get  themselves  fairly  launched  and  free  from 
the  tossing,  wave-dashed  ice  which  momen 
tarily  threatened  to  engulf  them. 

Mr.  Herring,  the  officer  in  charge,  reported 
that  they  had  proceeded  along  the  coast  as  far 
as  Cape  Wankarem  and  had  been  so  fortunate 
as  to  accomplish  the  main  objects  of  their  mis 
sion,  namely,  to  determine  the  value  of  the 
stories  prevalent  among  the  natives  to  the 
southward  of  here  concerning  the  lost  whalers 
Vigilant  and  Mount  Wollaston;  to  ascertain 
whether  any  of  the  crews  of  the  missing  ves 
sels  had  landed  on  the  Siberian  coast  to  the 
southeastward  of  Cape  Yaka"n;  and  in  case  any 
party  should  land  there  in  the  future,  to  be 
speak  in  their  behalf  the  aid  and  good-will  of 
the  natives. 

At  the  Chukchi  village  at  Cape  Onman  they 
102 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

were  told  that  at  the  village  of  Oncarima,  near 
Cape  Wankarem,  they  would  find  three  men 
who  could  tell  them  all  about  the  broken  ship, 
for  they  had  seen  the  wreck  and  been  aboard 
of  her,  and  had  brought  off  many  things  that 
they  had  found  on  the  deck  and  in  the  cabin. 
This  news  caused  them  to  hurry  on,  and  when 
they  arrived  at  the  village,  and  had  bestowed 
the  customary  presents  of  tobacco  and  coffee, 
Mr.  Herring  stated  the  object  of  his  visit. 

Three  natives  then  came  forward  and  stated 
through  the  interpreter  that  last  year,  when 
they  were  out  hunting  seals  on  the  ice,  about 
five  miles  from  the  land,  near  the  little  island 
which  they  call  Konkarpo,  at  the  time  of  year 
when  the  new  ice  begins  to  grow  in  the  sea,  and 
when  the  sun  does  not  rise,  they  saw  a  big  ship 
without  masts  in  the  ice-pack,  which  they 
reached  without  difficulty  and  climbed  on  deck. 
The  masts,  they  said,  had  been  chopped  down, 
and  there  was  a  pair  of  horns  on  the  end  of  the 
jib-boom,  indicating  the  position  of  them  on 
a  sketch  of  a  ship.  The  hold,  they  said,  was 
full  of  water  so  that  they  could  not  go  down 
into  it  to  see  anything,  but  they  broke  a  way 
into  the  cabin  and  found  four  dead  men,  who 
had  been  dead  a  long  time.  Three  of  them  were 
lying  in  bunks,  and  one  on  the  floor.  They  also 
got  into  the  galley  and  found  a  number  of  arti- 

103 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

cles  which  they  brought  away;  also,  some  from 
the  cabin  and  other  parts  of  the  ship. 

While  they  were  busy  looking  for  things 
which  they  fancied,  and  considered  worth  car 
rying  away,  one  of  the  three  called  out  to  his 
companions  that  the  wind  was  blowing  off 
shore,  and  that  they  must  make  haste  for  the 
land  as  the  ice  was  beginning  to  move,  which 
caused  them  to  hurry  from  the  wreck  with 
what  articles  they  could  conveniently  carry 
without  being  delayed.  Next  day  they  went  as 
far  out  towards  the  spot  where  they  had  left  the 
vessel  as  the  state  of  the  ice  would  allow,  hop 
ing  to  procure  something  else.  But  they  found 
that  she  had  drifted  out  of  sight,  and  as  the 
wind  had  been  blowing  from  the  southwest, 
they  supposed  that  she  had  drifted  in  a  north 
easterly  direction.  They  had  looked  for  this 
ship  many  times  after  her  first  disappearance, 
but  never  saw  her  again. 

After  they  had  finished  their  story,  Mr.  Her 
ring  requested  them  to  show  him  all  the  things 
that  they  had  brought  from  the  wreck,  telling 
them  that  he  would  give  them  tobacco  for 
some  of  them  that  he  might  want  to  show  to 
his  friends.  Thereupon  they  brought  forward 
the  following  articles,  which  were  carefully 
examined  by  our  party  in  hopes  of  being  able 
to  identify  the  vessel :  — 

104 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

A  pair  of  marine  glasses 

A  pair  of  silver-mounted  spectacles  in  a  tin  case 

(the  lenses  showing  that  they  had  belonged  to  an 

aged  person) 
A  jack-knife 
A  carving-knife 
A  butcher's  chopping-knife 
Two   table-knives,  the  handle   of   one  of   them 

marked  V 
A  meat  saw 
A  soup  ladle 
A  stew  pan 
A  tin  collander 
A  hand  lamp 

A  square  tin  lantern  painted  green 
A  draw-knife 
An  adze 

Two  carpenter's  saws 
A  chisel 
A  file 

A  brace  and  bit 
A  tack  hammer 
A  pump-handle 
A  shovel 
A  bullet-mould 
A  truss 

A  bottle  of  some  sort  of  medicine 
A  sailor's  ditty  bag,  with  thread 
A  razor 

A  linen  jumper 
Two  small  coins 
Two  coils  of  Manila  rope 
Three  whale  spades 
One  harpoon 

105 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

The  harpoon  and  whale  spades  are  marked 
"B.K.,"  and  will  no  doubt  serve  to  identify 
the  owners.  Not  a  single  private  name  was 
found  on  any  of  the  articles;  nor  did  the  na 
tives  produce  any  books  or  papers  of  any  sort, 
though  they  said  that  they  saw  books  in  the 
cabin.  A  number  of  the  articles  enumerated 
above  were  purchased  by  Mr.  Herring  and 
are  now  on  board  the  Corwin,  namely,  the 
marine  glasses,  spectacles,  harpoon,  and  table- 
knives. 

The  fate,  then,  of  one  of  the  two  missing  ships 
is  discovered  beyond  a  doubt,  though  a  portion 
of  the  crew  may  possibly  be  alive.  If  the  state 
ment  as  to  the  deer  horns  on  the  jib-boom  is 
to  be  relied  on,  it  is  the  Vigilant,  as  she  is  said 
to  be  the  only  vessel  in  the  fleet  that  had  deer 
horns  on  her  jib-boom. 

A  party  of  Chukchi  traders,  also,  were  met 
here,  being  on  their  way  to  East  Cape  with 
reindeer  skins.  They  stated  that  no  vessel  had 
been  seen  anywhere  along  the  coast  to  the 
northwest  of  Wankarem  as  far  as  Cape  Yakdn 
except  one,  a  three-masted  steamer,  the  Vega, 
two  years  ago ;  that  if  any  ships  had  been  seen 
they  certainly  should  have  heard  about  it. 
The  place  where  the  Vega  wintered,1  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Cape  Serdze- 
>  Pittle  Keg. 
106 


RETURN  OF  THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

kamen,  is  well  known  to  nearly  all  the  natives 
living  within  a  hundred  miles  of  it. 

The  Jeannette  was  last  seen  by  the  natives 
off  Cape  Serdzekamen  two  years  ago,  prob 
ably  just  before  she  went  north  into  the  ice. 
A  party  of  walrus  hunters  went  aboard  of  her. 
They  described  her  as  a  three-masted  steamer, 
with  plenty  of  coal  and  dogs  on  deck.  When 
Wrangell  Land  was  pointed  out  on  a  chart 
to  the  natives  at  Cape  Wankarem,  they  shook 
their  heads  and  said  that  they  knew  nothing 
of  land  in  that  direction.  But  one  old  man 
told  them  that  long  ago  he  had  heard  some 
thing  about  a  party  of  men  who  had  come 
from  some  far  unknown  land  to  the  north, 
over  the  ice. 

According  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  nine 
Chukchi  settlements  were  passed  on  the  coast 
between  Tapkan  and  Oncarima,  namely,  Nas- 
kan,  Undrillan,  Illwinoop,  Youngilla,1  Illoiuk, 
Koliuchin,  Unatapkan,  Onman  and  Enelpan. 
The  largest  of  these  is  Koliuchin,  with  twenty- 
seven  houses  and  about  three  hundred  people. 

The  natives,  everywhere  along  the  route 
traveled,  treated  the  party  with  great  kindness, 
giving  them  food  for  their  dog-teams  and  an 
swering  the  questions  put  to  them  with  good- 
natured  patience.  At  Koliuchin  one  of  the 

1  lintlin. 
107 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

chief  men  of  the  village  invited  them  to  din 
ner  and  greatly  surprised  them  by  giving  them 
good  tea  served  in  handsome  China  cups,  which 
he  said  he  had  bought  from  the  Russians. 


CHAPTER  IX 

VILLAGES   OF   THE   DEAD 

Steamer  Corwin, 
East  Cape,  Siberia,  July  1,  1881. 

AFTER  getting  our  search  party  on  board 
at  Tapkan,  we  found  it  impossible,  under  the 
conditions  of  ice  and  water  that  prevailed,  to 
land  our  Chukchi  dog-driver,  who  lives  there, 
and  who  had  come  off  with  the  party  to  get  his 
pay.  He  was  in  excellent  spirits,  however,  and 
told  the  Captain  that  since  he  had  received  a 
gun  and  a  liberal  supply  of  ammunition  he  did 
not  care  where  he  was  put  ashore  —  Cape 
Serdzekamen,  East  Cape,  or  any  point  along 
the  shore  or  edge  of  the  ice-pack  would  answer, 
as  he  could  kill  plenty  of  birds  and  seals,  and 
get  home  any  time.  The  dogs  and  sledges  were 
left  in  his  care  at  Tapkan,  to  be  in  readiness  in 
case  they  should.be  required  next  winter. 

Speeding  southward  under  steam  and  sail 
we  reached  East  Cape  yesterday  at  seven  in  the 
morning.  By  this  time  the  wind  was  blowing 
what  seamen  call  a  "living  gale,"  whitening 
the  sea,  and  rilling  up  the  air  with  blinding 
scud.  We  found  good  anchorage,  however, 
back  of  the  high  portion  of  the  Cape,  opposite 

109 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

a  large  settlement  of  Chukchis.  East  Cape  is 
a  very  bold  bluff  of  granite  about  two  thousand 
feet  high,  which  evidently  has  been  overswept 
from  the  northwest.  I  eagerly  waited  to  get  off 
and  to  climb  high  enough  to  make  sure  of  the 
trends  of  the  ridges  and  grooves,  and  to  seek 
scratches,  bossed  surfaces,  etc.  But  the  howl 
ing,  shrieking  norther  blew  all  day,  and  had 
not  abated  at  eleven  o'clock  last  night. 

This  morning  Mr.  Nelson  and  I  went  ashore 
to  see  what  we  could  learn.  The  village  here, 
through  which  we  passed  on  our  way  up  the 
mountain-side,  consists  of  about  fifty  huts, 
built  on  a  small,  rocky,  terminal  moraine,  and 
so  deeply  sunk  in  the  face  of  the  hill  that  the 
entire  village  makes  scarcely  more  show  at  a 
distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards  than  a  group 
of  marmot  burrows.  The  lower  portion  of  the 
walls  is  built  of  moraine  boulders,  the  upper 
portion  and  the  curving  beehive  roof  of  drift 
wood  and  the  ribs  of  whales,  framed  together 
and  covered  with  walrus  hide  or  dirt. 

During  the  winter  the  huts  are  entered  by  a 
low  tunnel,  so  as  to  exclude  the  cold  air  as  much 
as  possible.  The  floor  is  simply  the  natural 
dirt  mixed  into  a  dark  hairy  paste,  with  much 
that  is  not  at  all  natural.  Fires  are  made  oc 
casionally  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  to  cook  the 
small  portion  of  their  food  that  is  not  eaten 
no 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

raw.  Ivory-headed  spears,  arrows,  seal  nets, 
bags  of  oil,  rags  of  seal  or  walrus  meat,  and 
strips  of  whale  blubber  and  skin,  lie  on  shelves 
or  hang  confusedly  from  the  roof,  while  pup 
pies  and  nursing  mother-dogs  and  children  may 
be  seen  scattered  here  and  there,  or  curled 
snugly  in  the  pots  and  eating-troughs,  after 
they  have  licked  them  clean,  making  a  kind 
of  squalor  that  is  picturesque  and  daring  be 
yond  conception. 

In  all  of  the  huts,  however,  there  are  from 
one  to  three  or  four  luxurious  bedrooms.  The 
walls,  ceiling,  and  floor  are  of  soft  reindeer 
skins,  and  [each  polog  has]  a  trough  filled  with 
oil  for  heat  and  light.  After  hunting  all  day  on 
the  ice,  making  long,  rough,  stormy  journeys, 
the  Chukchi  hunter,  muffled  and  hungry,  comes 
into  his  burrow,  eats  his  fill  of  oil  and  seal  or 
walrus  meat,  then  strips  himself  naked  and  lies 
down  in  his  closed  fur  nest,  his  polog,  in  glori 
ous  ease,  to  smoke  and  sleep. 

I  was  anxious  to  reach  the  top  of  the  cape 
peninsula  to  learn  surely  whether  it  had  been 
overswept  by  an  ice-sheet,  and  if  so  from  what 
direction,  and  to  study  its  glacial  conditions 
in  general  and  the  character  of  the  rocks.  I 
therefore  hastened  to  make  the  most  of  my  op 
portunity,  and  pushed  on  through  the  village 
towards  the  lowest  part  of  the  divide  between 
in 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

the  north  and  south  sides,  followed  by  a  crowd 
of  curious  boys,  who  good-naturedly  assisted 
me  whenever  I  stopped  to  gather  the  flowers 
that  I  found  in  bloom.  The  banks  of  a  stream 
coming  from  a  high  basin  filled  with  snow  was 
quite  richly  flowered  with  anemones,  butter 
cups,  potentillas,  drabas,  primulas  and  many 
species  of  dwarf  willows,  up  to  a  height  of  about 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  be 
yond  this,  spring  had  hardly  made  any  impres 
sion,  while  nearly  a  thousand  feet  of  the  highest 
summits  were  still  covered  with  deep  snow. 

Mr.  Nelson  soon  left  me  in  pursuit  of  a  bird, 
and  in  crossing  a  rocky  ridge  to  come  up  with 
me  again,  he  came  upon  a  lot  of  other  game, 
which  seemed  to  interest  him  still  more,  namely, 
dead  natives  scattered  about  on  the  rough 
stones  at  one  of  the  cemeteries  belonging  to 
the  village.  The  bodies  of  the  dead,  together 
with  whatever  articles  belonged  to  them,  are 
simply  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  so  that 
a  cemetery  is  a  good  field  for  collectors.  A  lot 
of  ivory  spears,  arrows,  dishes  of  various  kinds, 
and  a  stone  hammer,  formed  the  least  ghastly 
of  his  spoils.  Leaving  Mr.  Nelson  alone  in  his 
glory,  I  pushed  on  to  the  top  of  the  divide,  then 
followed  it  westward  to  the  highest  summit  on 
the  peninsula,  whence  I  obtained  the  views 
I  was  in  search  of. 

112 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

The  dividing  ridge  all  along  the  high  eastern 
portion  of  the  peninsula  is  rounded  from  nearly 
north  to  south.  The  curves  on  the  north  begin 
almost  at  the  water's  edge,  while  the  south  side 
is  quite  precipitous  along  the  shore.  There  is 
also  a  telling  series  of  parallel  grooves  and  ridges 
trending  north  and  south  across  the  peninsula. 
The  highest  point  is  about  twenty-five  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  mountainous  por 
tion  has  been  nearly  eroded  from  the  continent 
and  made  an  island  like  the  two  Diomedes,  the 
wide  gap  of  low  ground  connecting  it  with  the 
high  mainland  being  only  a  few  feet  above 
tide-water.  In  this  low  portion  there  is  here 
and  there  a  rounded  upswelling  of  more  resist 
ing  rock,  with  trends,  all  telling  the  same  story 
of  a  vast  oversweeping  ice-flood  from  the  north. 

I  also  had  a  clear  view  of  the  coast  mountains 
for  a  hundred  miles  or  thereabouts,  all  of  which 
are  tellingly  glaciated  in  harmony  with  the 
above  generalization.  Most  of  the  rock  is  gran 
ite  with  cleavage  planes  that  cause  it  to  weather 
rapidly  into  flat  blocks.  One  conical  black  hill, 
fifteen  hundred  feet  high,  is  volcanic  rock,  close- 
grained  and  dense  like  some  kinds  of  iron  ore. 
I  saw  an  Arctic  owl,  a  big  snowy  fellow,  fitting 
his  place;  also,  snow-buntings  and  linnets. 
When  the  natives  saw  Mr.  Nelson  returning 
without  me  they  said  that  he  had  killed  me, 
113 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

not  being  aware  of  the  fact  that  he  understood 
their  language. 

On  my  way  down  to  the  shore  I  crossed  an 
other  of  the  village  cemeteries  in  a  very  rough 
and  steep  slope  of  weathered  granite,  several 
hundred  feet  above  the  village  and  to  the  west 
ward  of  it.  Whole  skeletons  or  single  bones  and 
skulls  lay  here  and  there,  wedged  into  chance 
positions  among  the  stones,  weathering  and 
falling  to  pieces  like  the  ivory-pointed  spears, 
arrows,  etc.,  mixed  with  them.  The  mountain 
that  they  were  lying  on  is  crumbling  also  — 
dust  to  dust.  Some  of  the  corpses  have  had 
stones  piled  on  them,  and  their  goods  on  top 
of  all;  others  were  laid  on  the  rough  rocks  with 
a  row  of  big  stones  on  the  lower  side  to  keep 
them  from  rolling  down. 

The  damp,  lower  portion  of  the  wild  north 
wind,  as  it  was  deflected  up  and  over  the  slopes 
and  frosty  summit  of  the  peninsula,  has  given 
birth  to  a  remarkably  beautiful  covering  of 
white  ice  crystals  on  the  windward  sides  of 
exposed  boulders,  and  in  some  places  on  the 
snow.  The  crystals  resemble  white  feathers  in 
their  aggregate  forms,  but  are  firm  and  icy  in 
structure,  and  as  evenly  and  gracefully  im 
bricated  on  each  other  over  the  rough  faces  of 
the  rocks  as  are  the  feathers  on  the  breast  of  a 
bird.  The  effect  is  marvelously  beautiful  and 

114 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

interesting  as  seen  on  those  castellated  rock- 
piles,  so  frequently  found  on  bleak  summits. 
The  points  of  the  feathers  grow  to  windward, 
and  indicate  by  their  curves  all  the  varying  di 
rections  pursued  by  the  interrupted  wind  as  it 
glints  and  reverberates  about  the  innumerable 
angles  of  the  rock  fronts.  Thus  the  rocks, 
where  the  exposure  to  storms  is  greatest,  and 
where  only  ruin  seems  to  be  the  object,  are  all 
the  more  lavishly  clothed  upon  with  beauty 
—  beauty  that  grows  with  and  depends  upon 
the  violence  of  the  gale.  In  like  manner  do  men 
find  themselves  enriched  by  storms  that  seem 
only  big  with  ruin,  both  in  the  physical  and 
the  moral  worlds. 

We  weighed  anchor  and  got  away  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  reached  the  West 
Diomede  Island  village  at  half-past  four.  Here 
we  took  aboard  the  boatswain  and  Mr.  Nel 
son's  man,  whom  we  had  left  to  make  obser 
vations  on  the  currents,  tides,  etc.  He  was  to 
have  been  assisted  by  the  natives,  but  the 
rough  weather  prevented  work.  About  half- 
past  five  we  left  the  Diomede  for  Marcus  Bay 
in  order  to  land  Joe,  the  Chukchi.  The  sea  is 
smooth  now,  at  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before 
midnight,  and  there  is  a  lovely  orange-and- 
gold  sunset.  The  gulls  are  still  on  the  wing. 


115 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

July  2.  Clear,  calm,  sunful;  the  coast  of 
Asia  is  seen  to  excellent  advantage;  crowds  of 
glacial  peaks,  ice-fountains,  and  fiords  far  in- 
reaching.  The  snow  on  them  is  melting  fast. 
About  noon  *  twelve  canoes  from  a  large  vil 
lage  twenty  miles  north  of  Marcus  Bay  came 
off  to  trade.  The  schooners  that  came  to  this 
region  to  trade  were  perhaps  afraid  to  touch 
here.  Consequently  the  Corwin  was  the  first 
vessel  with  trade  goods  that  they  have  seen 
this  year,  and  the  business  in  bone  and  ivory 
went  on  with  hearty  vigor.  A  hundred  or  more 
Chukchis  were  aboard  at  once,  making  a  stir 
equal  to  that  of  a  country  fair.  One  of  them 
spoke  a  little  whaler  English,  three  quarters  of 
which  was  profanity  and  nearly  one  quarter 
slang.  He  asked  the  Captain  why  he  did  not 
like  him,  [and  intimated  that]  if  he  should 
come  ashore  to  his  house  he,  the  Indian,  would 
show  him  by  his  treatment  that  he  liked  him 
very  much. 

We  are  now,  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  ap 
proaching  Marcus  Bay,  where  Joe  lives,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  him  home.  For  his  month's 
work  and  his  team  of  five  dogs  he  has  been 
paid  a  box  of  hard  bread,  ten  sacks  of  flour, 
some  calico,  a  rifle,  and  a  considerable  quantity 
of  ammunition.  Although  this  is  doubtless 

1  Opposite  Cape  Chaplin. 
116 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

five  times  more  than  he  expected,  he  does  not 
show  any  excitement  or  rise  of  spirits,  but  only 
a  stoical  composure,  which  seems  so  Arctic  and 
immovable  that  I  doubt  whether  he  would 
move  a  muscle  of  his  face  if  he  were  presented 
with  the  whole  ship's  cargo  and  the  ship  itself 
thrown  in. 

Steamer  Conoin, 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  Alaska, 

July  3,  1881. 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  largest  in  Bering 
Sea,  is  situated  at  a  distance  of  about  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  off  the  mouths  of  the 
Yukon,  and  forty-five  miles  from  the  nearest 
point  on  the  coast  of  Siberia.  It  is  about  a 
hundred  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west  and 
fifteen  miles  in  average  width ;  a  dreary,  cheer 
less-looking  mass  of  black  lava,  dotted  with 
volcanoes,  covered  with  snow,  without  a  single 
tree,  and  rigidly  bound  in  ocean  ice  for  more 
than  half  the  year. 

Inasmuch  as  it  lies  broadsidewise  to  the  way 
pursued  by  the  great  ice-sheet  that  once  filled 
Bering  Sea,  it  is  traversed  by  numerous  val 
leys  and  ridges  and  low  gaps,  some  of  which 
have  been  worn  down  nearly  to  the  sea-level. 
Had  the  glaciation  to  which  it  has  been  sub 
jected  been  carried  on  much  longer,  then,  in 
stead  of  this  one  large  island,  we  should  have 
117 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

had  several  smaller  ones.  Nearly  all  of  the  vol 
canic  cones  with  which  the  central  portion  of 
the  island  is  in  great  part  covered,  are  post 
glacial  in  age  and  present  well-formed  craters 
but  little  weathered  as  yet. 

All  the  surface  of  the  low  grounds,  in  the 
glacial  gaps,  as  well  as  the  flat  table-lands,  is 
covered  with  wet,  spongy  tundra  of  mosses  and 
lichens,  with  patches  of  blooming  heathworts 
and  dwarf  willows,  and  grasses  and  sedges, 
diversified  here  and  there  by  drier  spots, 
planted  with  larkspurs,  saxifrages,  daisies, 
primulas,  anemones,  ferns,  etc.  These  form 
gardens  with  a  luxuriance  and  brightness  of 
color  little  to  be  hoped  for  in  so  cold  and  dreary- 
looking  a  region. 

Three  years  ago  there  were  about  fifteen 
hundred  inhabitants  on  the  island,  chiefly 
Eskimos,  living  in  ten  villages  located  around 
the  shores,  and  subsisting  on  the  seals,  wal 
ruses,  whales,  and  water  birds  that  abound 
here.  Now  there  are  only  about  five  hundred 
people,  most  of  them  in  one  village  on  the 
northwest  end  of  the  island,  nearly  two  thirds 
of  the  population  having  died  of  starvation 
during  the  winter  of  1878-79.  In  seven  of  the 
villages  not  a  single  soul  was  left  alive.  In  the 
largest  village  at  the  northwest  end  of  the  is 
land,  which  suffered  least,  two  hundred  out  of 
118 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

six  hundred  died.  In  the  one  at  the  southwest 
end  only  fifteen  out  of  about  two  hundred  sur 
vived.  There  are  a  few  survivors  also  at  one  of 
the  villages  on  the  east  end  of  the  island. 

After  landing  our  interpreter  at  Marcus  Bay 
we  steered  for  St.  Michael,  and  in  passing  along 
the  north  side  of  this  island  we  stopped  an  hour 
or  so  this  morning  at  one  of  the  smallest  of  the 
dead  villages.  Mr.  Nelson  went  ashore  and 
obtained  a  lot  of  skulls  and  specimens  of  one 
sort  and  another  for  the  Smithsonian  Institu 
tion.  Twenty-five  skeletons  were  seen. 

A  few  miles  farther  on  we  anchored  before  a 
larger  village,  situated  about  halfway  between 
the  east  and  west  ends  of  the  island,  which  I 
visited  in  company  with  Mr.  Nelson,  the  Cap 
tain,  and  the  Surgeon.  We  found  twelve  des 
olate  huts  close  to  the  beach  with  about  two 
hundred  skeletons  in  them  or  strewn  about  on 
the  rocks  and  rubbish  heaps  within  a  few  yards 
of  the  doors.  The  scene  was  indescribably 
ghastly  and  desolate,  though  laid  in  a  country 
purified  by  frost  as  by  fire.  Gulls,  plovers,  and 
ducks  were  swimming  and  flying  about  in 
happy  life,  the  pure  salt  sea  was  dashing  white 
against  the  shore,  the  blooming  tundra  swept 
back  to  the  snow-clad  volcanoes,  and  the  wide 
azure  sky  bent  kindly  over  all  —  nature  in 
tensely  fresh  and  sweet,  the  village  lying  hi  the 
119 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

foulest  and  most  glaring  death.  The  shrunken 
bodies,  with  rotting  furs  on  them,  or  white, 
bleaching  skeletons,  picked  bare  by  the  -crows, 
were  lying  mixed  with  kitchen-midden  rubbish 
where  they  had  been  cast  out  by  surviving  rela 
tives  while  they  yet  had  strength  to  carry  them. 
In  the  huts  those  who  had  been  the  last  to 
perish  were  found  in  bed,  lying  evenly  side  by 
side,  beneath  their  rotting  deerskins.  A  grin 
ning  skull  might  be  seen  looking  out  here  and 
there,  and  a  pile  of  skeletons  in  a  corner,  laid 
there  no  doubt  when  no  one  was  left  strong 
enough  to  carry  them  through  the  narrow  un 
derground  passage  to  the  door.  Thirty  were 
found  in  one  house,  about  half  of  them  piled 
like  fire-wood  in  a  corner,  the  other  half  in  bed, 
seeming  as  if  they  had  met  their  fate  with  tran 
quil  apathy.  Evidently  these  people  did  not 
suffer  from  cold,  however  rigorous  the  winter 
may  have  been,  as  some  of  the  huts  had  in 
them  piles  of  deerskins  that  had  not  been  in 
use.  Nor,  although  their  survivors  and  neigh 
bors  all  say  that  hunger  was  the  sole  cause  of 
their  death,  could  they  have  battled  with 
famine  to  the  bitter  end,  because  a  consider 
able  amount  of  walrus  rawhide  and  skins  of. 
other  animals  was  found  in  the  huts.  These 
would  have  sustained  life  at  least  a  week  or 
two  longer. 

120 


VILLAGES  OF  THE  DEAD 

The  facts  all  tend  to  show  that  the  winter  of 
1878-79  was,  from  whatever  cause,  one  of 
great  scarcity,  and  as  these  people  never  lay 
up  any  considerable  supply  of  food  from  one 
season  to  another,  they  began  to  perish.  The 
first  to  succumb  were  carried  out  of  the  huts 
to  the  ordinary  ground  for  the  dead,  about  half 
a  mile  from  the  village.  Then,  as  the  survivors 
became  weaker,  they  carried  the  dead  a  shorter 
distance,  and  made  no  effort  to  mark  their 
positions  or  to  lay  their  effects  beside  them, 
as  they  customarily  do.  At  length  the  bodies 
were  only  dragged  to  the  doors  of  the  huts,  or 
laid  in  a  corner,  and  the  last  survivors  lay 
down  in  despair  without  making  any  struggle 
to  prolong  their  wretched  lives  by  eating  the 
last  scraps  of  skin. 

Mr.  Nelson  went  into  this  Golgotha  with 
hearty  enthusiasm,  gathering  the  fine  white 
harvest  of  skulls  spread  before  him,  and  throw 
ing  them  in  heaps  like  a  boy  gathering  pump 
kins.  He  brought  nearly  a  hundred  on  board, 
which  will  be  shipped  with  specimens  of  bone 
armor,  weapons,  utensils,  etc.,  on  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company's  steamer  St.  Paul. 

We  also  landed  at  the  village  on  the  south 
west  corner  of  the  island  and  interviewed  the 
fifteen  survivors.  When  we  inquired  where 
the  other  people  of  the  village  were,  one  of 

121 


the  group,  who  speaks  a  few  words  of  English, 
answered  with  a  happy,  heedless  smile,  "All 
mucky."  "All  gone!"  "Dead?"  "Yes,  dead, 
all  dead!"  Then  he  led  us  a  few  yards  back 
of  his  hut  and  pointed  to  twelve  or  fourteen 
skeletons  lying  on  the  brown  grass,  repeating 
in  almost  a  merry  tone  of  voice,  "Dead,  yes, 
all  dead,  all  mucky,  all  gone!" 

About  two  hundred  perished  here,  and  unless 
some  aid  be  extended  by  our  government  which 
claims  these  people,  in  a  few  years  at  most 
every  soul  of  them  will  have  vanished  from  the 
face  of  the  earth;  for,  even  where  alcohol  is 
left  out  of  the  count,  the  few  articles  of  food, 
clothing,  guns,  etc.,  furnished  by  the  traders, 
exert  a  degrading  influence,  making  them  less 
self-reliant,  and  less  skillful  as  hunters.  They 
seem  easily  susceptible  of  civilization,  and  well 
deserve  the  attention  of  our  government. 


CHAPTER  X 

GLIMPSES   OF  ALASKAN   TUNDRA 

St.  Michael,  Alaska,  July  8, 1881. 

THE  Corwin  arrived  here  on  the  Fourth, 
and,  in  honor  of  the  day,  made  some  noise  with 
her  cannon  in  concert  with  those  belonging  to 
the  fort,  to  the  steamer  St.  Paul,  and  to  the 
post  of  the  Western  Fur  and  Trading  Company 
across  the  bay.  We  have  taken  on  a  supply  of 
coal  and  provisions  for  nine  months,  in  case 
we  should  by  any  accident  be  caught  in  the  ice 
north  of  Bering  Strait  before  calling  here  again 
in  the  fall. 

We  hope  to  get  away  from  here  this  evening 
for  the  Arctic,  intending  to  cruise  along  the 
Alaskan  coast  beyond  Point  Barrow,  spending 
some  time  about  Kotzebue  Sound  in  order  to 
look  after  revenue  interests,  and  to  make,  per 
haps,  some  explorations  on  the  lower  courses  of 
the  Inland  1  and  Buckland  Rivers,  and  on  the 
Colville,2  of  which  nearly  nothing  is  yet  known 

1  Now  called  Noatak  River. 

2  The  upper  reaches  of  the  Colville  and  Buckland  Rivers, 
according  to  the  Geological  Survey  map  of  1915,  are  still 
unexplored.  The  former  empties  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  the 
latter  into  Eschscholtz  Bay. 

123 


THE   CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

to  geographers.  The  coast  will  also  be  carefully 
searched  for  traces  of  the  Jeannette  and  missing 
whalers  in  case  any  portion  of  their  crews  have 
come  over  the  ice  last  winter.  Perhaps  a  month 
will  be  spent  thus,  when  an  attempt  will  be 
made  to  reach  Wrangell  Land,  where  the  Jean 
nette  probably  spent  her  first  winter.  And 
since  the  Corwin  has  already  passed  Cape 
Serdzekamen  twice  this  season,  we  have  san 
guine  hopes  of  success  under  so  favorable  a 
condition  of  the  ice. 

Arctic  explorations  are  exciting  much  in 
terest  among  the  natives  here.  Last  evening 
the  shamans  called  up  the  spirits  supposed  to 
be  familiar  with  polar  matters.  The  latter  in 
formed  them  that  not  only  was  the  Jeannette 
forever  lost  in  the  ice  of  the  Far  North  with  all 
her  crew,  but  also  that  the  Corwin  would  never 
more  be  seen  after  leaving  St.  Michael  this 
time,  information  which  caused  our  interpreter 
to  leave  us,  nor  have  we  as  yet  been  able  to 
procure  another  in  his  place.  The  Jeannette 
took  two  men  from  here. l 

This  is  the  busy  time  of  the  year  at  St. 
Michael,  when  the  traders  come  with  their  furs 
from  stations  far  up  the  Yukon  and  return  with 

1  These  were  the  two  native  Alaskan  hunters  Alexey  and 
Aneguin.  The  former  was  among  those  who  perished  with 
De  Long  on  the  delta  of  the  Lena  River. 

124 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

next  year's  supply  of  goods.  Those  of  the  West 
ern  Fur  and  Trading  Company  left  for  the 
upper  Yukon  yesterday,  and  those  connected 
with  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  will  fol 
low  as  soon  as  the  new  steamboat,  which  they 
are  putting  together  here,  can  be  got  ready. 

The  party  of  prospectors  which  left  San 
Francisco  this  spring  in  a  schooner,  to  seek  a 
mountain  of  solid  silver,  reported  to  have  been 
seen  some  distance  up  a  river  that  flows  into 
Golofnin  Bay  on  the  north  side  of  Norton 
Sound,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  here,  has 
arrived,  and  is  now  up  the  river  prospecting. 
From  what  I  can  learn,  they  will  not  find  the 
mountain  to  be  solid  silver,  but  some  far  com 
moner  mineral.  Gold  is  said  to  have  been  dis 
covered  by  Mr.  Harker  on  the  Tanana  River 
—  bar  diggings  that  would  pay  about  twelve 
dollars  per  day.  There  will  probably  be  a  rush 
to  the  new  mines  ere  long,  though  news  of  this 
kind  is  kept  back  as  long  as  possible  by  the  fur 
companies. 

The  weather  is  delightful,  temperature  about 
60°  F.  in  the  shade,  and  the  vegetation  is  grow 
ing  with  marvelous  rapidity.  The  grass  already 
is  about  two  feet  high  about  the  shores  of  the 
bay,  making  a  bright  green  surface,  not  at  all 
broken  as  far  as  can  be  seen  from  the  steamer. 
Almost  any  number  of  cattle  would  find  excel- 
125 


THE  CKUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

lent  pasturage  here  for  three  or  four  months  in 
the  year. 

During  our  last  visit  Dr.  Rosse  and  I  crossed 
the  tundra  to  a  prominent  hill  about  seven 
miles  to  the  southward  from  the  redoubt.  We 
found  the  hill  to  be  a  well-formed  volcanic  cone 
with  a  crater  a  hundred  yards  in  diameter  and 
about  twenty  feet  deep,  from  the  rim  of  which 
I  counted  upwards  of  forty  others  within  a 
distance  of  thirty  or  forty  miles.  This  old  vol 
cano  is  said  by  the  medicine  men  to  be  the  en 
trance  to  the  spirit  world  for  their  tribe,  and 
the  rumbling  sounds  heard  occasionally  are 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  spirits  when  they 
are  conducting  in  a  dead  Indian.  The  last 
eruption  was  of  ashes  and  pumice  cinders, 
which  are  strewn  plentifully  around  the  rim  of 
the  crater  and  down  the  sides  of  the  cone. 

Our  walk  was  very  fatiguing,  as  we  sank  deep 
in  spongy  moss  at  every  step,  and  staggered 
awkwardly  on  the  tops  of  tussocks  of  grass  and 
sedge,  which  bent  and  let  our  feet  down  be 
tween  them.  It  was  very  delightful,  however, 
and  crowded  with  rare  beauty. 

We  saw  a  great  number  of  birds,  most  of 
which  were  busy  about  their  nests;  there  were 
ptarmigan,  snipes,  curlews,  sand-pipers,  song 
sparrows,  titmice,  loons,  many  species  of  ducks, 
and  the  Emperor  goose.  The  ptarmigan  is  a 

126 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

• 
magnificent  bird,  about  the  size  of  the  dusky 

grouse  of  the  Sierra.  They  are  quite  abundant 
here,  flying  up  with  a  vigorous  whirr  of  wings 
and  a  loud,  hearty,  cackling  "  kek-kek-kep " 
every  few  yards  all  the  way  across  the  tundra. 
The  cocks  frequently  took  up  a  position  on 
some  slight  eminence  to  observe  us.  They 
seemed  happily  in  place  out  on  the  wide  moor, 
with  abundance  of  berries  to  eat  through  the 
summer,  spring,  and  fall,  and  willows  and  alder 
buds  for  winter.  Then  they  are  pure  white,  and 
warmly  feathered  down  to  the  ends  of  their 
toes.  The  sandpipers  had  fine  feeding-grounds 
about  the  shallow  pools.  The  gray  moor  is  a 
fine  place  for  curlews,  too,  and  snipe. 

The  plants  in  bloom  were  primula,  andro- 
meda,  dicentra,  mertensia,  veratrum,  ledum, 
saxifrage,  empetrum,  cranberry,  draba  of  sev 
eral  species,  lupine,  stellaria,  silene,  polemo- 
nium,  buckbean,  bryanthus,  several  sedges,  a 
liliaceous  plant  new  to  me/  five  species  of  wil 
low,  dwarf  birch,  alder,  and  a  purple  pedicu- 
laris,  the  showiest  of  them  all.  The  primula 
and  a  bryanthus-like  heathwort  were  the  most 
beautiful. 

The  tundra  is  composed  of  a  close  sponge  of 
mosses  about  a  foot  deep,  with  lichens  growing 
on  top  of  the  mosses,  and  a  thin  growth  of 
grasses  and  sedges  and  mcst  of  the  flowering 

127 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

plants  mentioned  above,  with  others  not  then 
in  bloom.  The  moss  rests  upon  a  stratum  of 
solid  ice,  and  the  ice  on  black  vesicular  lava, 
ridges  of  which  rise  here  and  there  above  the 
spongy  mantle  of  moss,  and  afford  ground  for 
plants  that  like  a  dry  soil.  There  are  hollows, 
too,  beneath  the  general  level  along  which  grow 
tall  aspidiums,  grasses,  sedges,  larkspurs,  alders, 
and  willows  —  the  alders  five  or  six  inches  in 
diameter  and  from  eight  to  ten  feet  high,  the 
largest  timber  I  have  seen  since  leaving  Cali 
fornia. 

Visits  from  Indians  in  kayaks.  At  full  speed 
they  can  run  about  seven  miles  an  hour  for  a 
short  distance.  The  salmon,  that  is,  the  best 
red-fleshed  species,  are  about  finishing  their 
run  up  the  river  now.  A  very  fat  one,  weigh 
ing  about  fifty  pounds,  was  bought  from  an 
Indian  for  a  little  hardtack.  After  enough  had 
been  cut  from  it  for  one  meal,  it  was  lost  over 
board  by  dropping  from  its  head  while  sus 
pended  by  it.  Specimens  of  a  hundred  pounds 
or  more  are  said  to  be  caught  at  times.  Mr. 
Nelson  saw  dried  specimens  six  feet  long. 

\Steamer  Corwin, 
En  route  to  the  Arctic  Ocean.] 

July  9.   Left  St.  Michael,  having  on  board 
provisions  for  nine  months,  and  about  one 
128 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

hundred  tons  of  coal.  Decks  heavily  piled. 
A  weird  red  sunset;  land  miraged  into  most 
grotesque  forms.  Heavy  smoke  from  the  burn 
ing  tundra  southwest  from  St.  Michael.  The 
season's  cruise  seems  now-  to  be  just  beginning. 

July  10.  Arrived  this  morning,  about  seven 
o'clock,  in  Golofnin  Bay,  and  dropped  anchor. 
There  is  a  heavy  sea  and  a  stiff  south  wind, 
with  clouds  veiling  the  summits  down  to  a 
thousand  feet  from  sea  level.  I  was  put  ashore 
on  the  right  side  of  the  bay  after  breakfast  at 
a  small  Indian  village  of  two  huts  made  of  drift 
wood.  They  were  full  of  dried  herring.  In 
habitants  not  at  home,  but  saw  a  few  at  an 
other  village  farther  up  the  bay.  All  the  huts 
are  strictly  conical  and  of  driftwood.  A  few 
Indians  came  off  in  canoes,  very  fine  ones,  of 
a  slightly  different  pattern  from  any  others  I 
have  seen.  There  is  a  round  hole  through  the 
front  end  to  facilitate  lifting.  I  had  a  long 
walk  and  returned  to  the  ship  at  three  in  the 
afternoon. 

The  principal  fact  I  discovered  is  a  heavy 
deposit  of  glacial  drift  about  fifty  feet  high, 
facing  several  miles  of  coast.  It  is  coarsely 
stratified  and  water-worn  — *  the  material  of 
a  terminal  moraine,  leveled  by  water  flowing 
from  a  broad  glacier,  while  separated  from  the 

129 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

sea  by  a  low,  draggled  flat,  and  then  eaten  into 
bluffs  by  the  sea  waves.  It  is  now  overgrown 
with  alders,  willows,  and  a  good  crop  of  sedges 
and  grasses,  bright  with  flowers.1  Found  the 
small  blue  violet  rather  common.  White  spiraea, 
in  flower,  is  abundant  in  damp  places  about 
alder  groves  where  the  tundra  mosses  are  not 
too  thick.  The  cranberries,  huckleberries,  and 
rubus  will  soon  be  ripe.  The  purple-flowered 
rubus  is  only  in  bloom  now. 

The  driftwood  is  spruce  and  cottonwood. 
The  rock,  containing  mica,  slate,  and  a  good 
deal  of  quartz,  seems  favorable  for  gold.  The 
life-boat,  rigged  with  sails,  has  been  sent  to 
board  the  prospectors'  schooner  anchored  far 
ther  up  the  bay.  Seven  men  are  aboard,  and 
seven  are  off  prospecting.  They  are  reported 
to  have  found  promising  galena  assaying  high 
values  per  ton.  They  mean  to  visit  the  quick 
silver  mines  on  the  Kuskoquim.  The  rocks  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  exhibit  clear  traces 
of  glacial  sculpture. 

July  1 1 .  Sailed  this  morning  from  the  anchor 
age  in  Golofnin  Bay,  and  reached  Sledge  Island 
at  nine  in  the  evening.  The  natives  are  mostly 
away  on  the  mainland.  The  island  seems  to  be 
of  granite  and  to  have  been  overswept  [by 
*  See  "  Botanical  Notes,"  p.  288. . 
130 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

glaciers].  Obtained  a  pretty  good  view  of  the 
mountains  at  the  head  of  Golofnin  Bay.  They 
seem  to  be  from  four  to  five  thousand  feet  high. 

July  12.  Reached  King  Island  this  morning 
about  seven  o'clock,  and  left  at  half-past  ten. 
Reached  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  about  three  in 
the  afternoon  and  anchored.  Left  at  six  in  the 
evening.  Clear,  bright  day;  water,  pale  green. 
Had  a  fine  view  of  the  Diomedes,  Fairway  Rock, 
King  Island,  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the 
lofty  mountains  towards  the  head  of  the  river 
that  enters  Golofnin  Bay,  all  from  one  point  of 
view.  The  King  Island  natives  were  away  on 
the  mainland,  all  save  a  few  old  or  crippled 
men,  and  women  and  children. 

Their  town,  of  all  that  I  have  seen,  is  the 
most  remarkably  situated,  on  the  face  of  a 
steep  slope,  almost  a  cliff,  and  presents  a  very 
strange  appearance.  Some  fifty  stone  huts, 
scarcely  visible  at  a  short  distance,  like  those 
of  the  Arizona  cliff-dwellers,  rise  like  heaps  of 
stones  among  heaps  of  stones.  These  are  the 
winter  huts,  and  are  entered  by  tunnels.  The 
summer  huts,  large  square  boxes  on  stilts,  are 
of  skin,  [stretched  over]  large  poles  of  drift 
wood.  There  is  no  way  of  landing  save  amid 
a  mass  of  great  wave-beaten  boulders.  In 
stormy  times  the  King  Islanders'  excellent 

131 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

canoes  have  to  be  pitched  off  into  the  sea  when 
a  wave  is  about  to  recede.  Two  are  tied  to 
gether  for  safety  in  rough  weather.  These  pairs 
live  in  any  sea.  A  few  gray-headed  old  pairs 
came  off  with  some  odds  and  ends  to  trade. 

Mr.  Nelson  and  I  went  ashore  to  obtain 
photographs  and  sketches  and  to  bargain  for 
specimens  of  ivory  carvings,  etc.  A  busy  trade 
developed  on  the  roof  of  a  house,  the  only  level 
ground.  Groups  of  merry  boys  went  skipping 
nimbly  from  rock  to  rock,  and  busily  guided  us 
over  the  safest  places.  They  showed  us  where 
between  the  huge  boulders  it  was  best  to  at 
tempt  a  landing,  which  was  difficult.  Though 
the  sea  was  nearly  calm,  a  slight  swell  made  a 
heavy  surf.  One  hut  rose  above  another  like 
a  village  on  Yosemite  walls.  The  whole  island 
is  precipitous,  so  much  so  that  it  seems  acces 
sible  only  to  murres,  etc.,  which  flock  here  in 
countless  multitudes  to  breed. 

In  the  afternoon,  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales, 
we  lay  opposite  a  large  village  whose  inhabi 
tants  have  a  bad  character.  They  started  a 
fight  while  trading  on  board  of  a  schooner. 
Many  of  them  were  killed,  and  they  have  since 
been  distrusted  not  only  on  account  of  their 
known  bad  character,  but  also  because  of  the 
law  of  blood  revenge  which  obtains  universally 
among  these  natives.  They  are  noted  traders 

132 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

and  go  far  in  their  large  skin  boats  which  carry 
sails.  While  we  were  here  a  canoe,  met  by  our 
search  party ,  arrived  from  East  Cape — a  party 
of  Chukchi  traders,  bringing  deerskins  from 
Cape  Yak&n.  They  are  in  every  way  much 
better-looking  men  than  the  natives  of  this 
side,  being  taller,  better-formed,  and  more 
cordial  in  manner.  They  at  once  recognized 
our  Third  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  whom  they 
had  met  at  Tapkan.  Fog  at  night;  going  under 
sail  only. 

July  13.  Lovely  day,  nearly  cloudless.  Aver 
age  temperature  of  50°  F.  At  half-past  five  in 
the  afternoon  we  fell  in  with  a  trading  schooner x 
opposite  an  Indian  village.2  One  of  the  boats 
came  alongside  the  Corwin  and  traded  a  few 
articles.  Nothing  contraband  was  found, 
though  rifles  probably  had  been  sold  during 
the  first  part  of  her  cruise.  These  vessels,  as 
well  as  whalers,  carry  more  or  less  whiskey  and 
rifles  in  order  to  obtain  ivory,  whalebone,  and 
furs.  They  go  from  coast  to  coast  and  among 
islands,  and  thus  pick  up  valuable  cargoes. 
The  natives  cannot  understand  why  the  Cor 
win  interferes  with  trade  in  repeating  rifles  and 
whiskey.  They  consider  it  all  a  matter  of  riv 
alry  and  superior  strength.  No  wonder,  since 
1  The  O.  S.  Fowler.  2  Near  Cape  Espenberg. 
133 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

our  government  does  nothing  for  them.  Com 
mon  rifles  would  be  better  for  them,  partly  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  supplies 
of  cartridges,  and  partly  because  repeating 
rifles  tempt  them  to  destroy  large  amounts  of 
game  which  they  do  not  need.  The  reindeer 
has  in  this  manner  been  well-nigh  exterminated 
within  the  last  few  years. 

July  14-  A  hot,  sunny  day.  Came  to  anchor 
this  morning  at  the  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Kiwalik  River.  Be 
tween  eight  and  nine  o'clock  this  morning 
Lieutenant  Reynolds,  with  six  seamen,  took 
Mr.  Nelson  and  me  up  the  river  in  one  of  the 
boats.  We  reached  a  point  about  eight  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  near  the  head 
of  the  delta.  Since  the  bay  is  shoal  off  the 
estuary,  the  ship  was  anchored  about  four 
miles  from  the  mouth.  We,  therefore,  had  a 
journey  of  about  twenty-four  miles  altogether. 
We  first  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  and 
walked  a  mile  or  two  along  a  bar  shoved  up  by 
the  waves  and  the  ice.  Here  we  found  one  na 
tive  hut  in  good  repair.  The  inhabitants  were 
away,  but  the  trodden  grass  showed  that  they 
had  not  been  gone  very  long.  This  is  the  time 
of  the  year  when  the  grand  gathering  of  the 
clans  for  trade  takes  place  at  Cape  Blossom, 
134 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

and  they  probably  had  gone  there.  The  floor 
of  the  hut  was  about  ten  feet  in  diameter,  [and 
the  hut  itself]  was  made  of  a  frame  of  drift 
wood  covered  with  sod,  and  was  entered  by  a 
narrow  tunnel  two  feet  high  and  eighteen  inches 
wide.  We  saw  traces  of  a  great  many  houses, 
showing  that  quite  a  large  village  was  at  one 
time  located  here.  In  some  only  a  few  decay 
ing  timbers  were  to  be  seen,  in  others  all  the 
timbers  had  vanished  and  only  the  excavation 
remained.  Some  six  miles  farther  up  the  stream 
I  noticed  other  ruins,  indicating  that  many 
natives  once  lived  here,  though  now  their  num 
ber  has  dwindled  to  one  family. 

The  delta  is  about  five  miles  wide  and  about 
eight  miles  long.  It  is  covered  with  a  grassy, 
flowery,  sedgy  vegetation,  with  pools,  lagoons, 
and  branches  of  the  river  here  and  there.  It 
is  a  lonely  place,  and  a  favorite  resort  of  ducks, 
geese,  and  other  water  birds  which  come  here 
to  breed  and  to  moult.  We  saw  swans1  with 
their  young;  eider  ducks,  also,  were  seen  with 
their  young,  and  some  were  found  on  their 
eggs,  which  are  green  and  about  the  size  of 
hens'  eggs.  Their  nests  were  among  the  grass 
on  the  margin  of  a  lagoon  and  were  made  with 
a  handful  of  down  from  their  breasts.  These 
as  well  as  other  ducks,  which  had  their  young 
•  1  Whistling  swans  (Olor  columbianus). 
135 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

with  them,  could  not  be  made  to  fly,  though 
we  came  within  three  or  four  yards  of  them  in 
a  narrow  pool.  When  I  threw  sticks  at  the 
flock  they  would  only  dive.  They  were  very 
graceful,  and  took  good  care  of  their  children. 
We  could  easily  have  killed  them  all. 

The  wild  geese  which  we  saw  also  had  young 
—  a  dozen  families  altogether.1  They  are 
moulting  now  and  cannot  fly.  We  chased  a 
large  flock  in  the  estuary.  When  they  saw  us 
coming,  they  made  frantic  efforts  to  keep 
ahead  of  the  boat.  When  we  overtook  them, 
they  dived  and  scattered,  coming  up  here  and 
there,  often  close  to  the  boat,  and  always  trying 
to  keep  themselves  concealed  by  laying  their 
necks  along  the  water  and  sinking  their  bodies 
and  lying  perfectly  still;  or,  if  they  were  well 
away  from  the  boat  and  fancied  themselves 
unseen,  they  swam  in  this  sunken,  outstretched 
condition  and  were  soon  lost  to  view,  if  there 
was  the  least  wind-ripple  on  the  water.  Saw 
three  plovers,  the  godwit  from  the  Siberian  side, 
and  many  finches  and  gulls.  On  a  small  islet 
in  the  middle  of  a  pond  we  found  one  nest  of 
the  burgomaster  gull.  They  tried  to  drive  us 
away  by  swooping  down  upon  us.  I  noticed 

1  Mr.  E.  W.  Nelson  reported  the  geese  observed  here  as 
belonging  to  two  species,  the  American  white-fronted  goose 
(Anser  albifrons  gambeli)  and  the  white-cheeked  goose 
(Bernida  canadensis  leucoparid).  • 

136 


GLIMPSES  OF  ALASKAN  TUNDRA 

also  the  robber-gull  and  several  others.  But 
terflies  were  quite  abundant  among  the  bloom 
ing  meadow  vegetation.  I  noticed  six  or  more 
species.  The  vegetation  is  like  that  of  Cape 
Prince  of  Wales  and  Norton  Sound.  Found 
one  red  poppy,  one  wintergreen,  allium,  saxi 
frages,  primulas,  lupines,  pedicularis,  and 
peas,  quite  abundant.  This  region  is  noted  for 
its  fossil  ivory.  Found  only  a  fragment  of  a 
tusk  and  a  few  bones.  The  deposit  whence 
they  were  derived  is  probably  above  the  point 
reached  by  us.  The  gravel  is  composed  of 
quartz,  mica,  slate,  and  lava.  There  are  many 
lava  cones  and  ridges  on  both  sides  of  the 
estuary. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CARIBOU   AND   A   NATIVE   FAIR 

July  15.  Rainy  and  cold;  cleared  at  seven  in 
the  evening.  Left  the  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound 
this  morning  at  seven-thirty,  for  Cape  Blos 
som,  where  the  natives  assemble  from  near  and 
far  to  trade,  but  only  one  poor  family  was  left. 
We  went  ashore  and  found  them  engaged  in 
fishing  for  salmon  with  a  net  which  was  pushed 
out  from  the  shore  by  a  long  pole  sixty  feet  in 
length,  made  of  three  tied  together.  The  In 
dians  had  gone  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  up  the 
coast,  near  Cape  Krusenstern.  Their  tents 
were  to  be  seen,  looking  like  Oakland  across 
the  bay  from  San  Francisco,  so  numerous  they 
seemed.  A  small  schooner,  the  Fowler,  was  at 
anchor  there  trading.  Soon  half  a  dozen  canoes 
came  alongside  of  us,  and  offered  to  trade,  but 
asked  big  prices.  The  Captain  obtained  only 
two  wolfskins,  a  deerskin,  and  a  few  muskrats, 
and  bunches  of  sinew.  [The  Corwin  then  pro 
ceeded  to  Hotham  Inlet  and  came  to  anchor 
about  two  miles  from  the  native  village  called 
Sheshalek,  inhabited  by  Kobuk  and  Noatak 
River  Eskimos.] 

138 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

July  16.  A.  fresh  breeze  from  the  north,  but 
the  day  is  tolerably  clear.  A  swell  is  breaking 
into  whitecaps  here  and  there.  A 'busy  day 
with  the  Indians,  trading  for  a  winter  supply 
of  deerskins.  We  obtained  over  a  hundred  al 
together  at  the  rate  of  about  a  dollar  each  for 
summer  skins,  and  half  as  much  for  those  taken 
in  winter.  With  what  we  have  already  picked 
up  here  and  there,  and  with  the  parkas  we  have 
collected,  this  will  be  amply  sufficient.  Rein 
deer  are  killed  in  immense  numbers  inland  from 
here.  All  are  wild;  no  domesticated  herds  are 
found  on  the  American  continent,  though  the 
natives  have  illustrations  enough  of  their  value 
on  the  opposite  shores  of  Bering  Sea.  These 
Indians  prefer  herds  that  require  no  care, 
though  they  are  not  always  to  be  found  when 
wanted.  Some  of  the  wild  herds  that  exist  up 
the  Inland  River  are  said,  by  the  Indians,  to 
be  so  large  as  to  require  more  than  a  day  in 
passing. 

The  number  of  these  animals,  considering 
the  multitude  of  their  enemies,  is  truly  won 
derful.  The  large  gray  wolves  kill  many  dur 
ing  the  winter,  and  when  the  snow  is  deep, 
large  flocks  are  slaughtered  by  the  Indians, 
whether  they  need  them  or  not.  They  make  it 
a  rule  to  kill  every  animal  that  comes  within 
reach,  without  a  thought  of  future  scarcity, 
139 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

fearing,  as  some  say,  that,  should  they  refuse 
to  kill  as  opportunity  offers,  though  it  be  at  a 
time  when  food  is  no  object,  then  the  deer- 
spirit  would  be  offended  at  the  refusal  of  his 
gifts  and  would  not  send  any  deer  when  they 
are  in  want.  Probably,  however,  they  are 
moved  simply  by  an  instinctive  love  of  killing 
on  which  their  existence  depends,  and  these 
wholesale  slaughters  are  to  be  regarded  as  only 
too  much  of  a  good  thing.  Formerly  there 
were  large  herds  about  St.  Michael,  but  since 
the  introduction  of  repeating  rifles  they  have 
wholly  vanished.  Hundreds  were  surrounded 
in  passes  among  the  hills,  were  killed  and  left 
lying  where  they  fell,  not  even  the  hides  being 
taken.  Often  a  band  of  moose  or  reindeer  is 
overtaken  in  deep  snow,  when  they  are  easily 
killed  with  clubs  by  Indians  on  snowshoes,  who 
will  simply  cut  out  their  tongues,  and  leave  the 
rest  to  be  eaten  by  wolves. 

The  reindeer  is  found  throughout  the  Arctic 
and  subarctic  regions  of  both  Asia  and  America, 
and,  in  either  the  wild  or  the  domestic  state, 
supplies  to  the  natives  an  abundance  of  food 
and  warm  clothing,  thus  rendering  these  bleak 
and  intensely  cold  regions  inhabitable.  I  be 
lieve  it  is  only  in  Lapland  and  Siberia  that  the 
reindeer  is  domesticated.  They  are  never  sold 
alive  by  the  Chukchis  on  account  of  a  super- 

140 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

stitious  notion  that  to  do  so  would  surely  bring 
bad  luck  by  incensing  the  spirit  of  the  deer. 
A  hundred  can  be  bought,  after  they  are  killed, 
for  less  than  one  alive.  Certain  ceremonies 
must  also  be  observed  before  killing. 

Out  on  the  frozen  tundra  great  care  is  re 
quired,  both  by  day  and  by  night,  to  keep  them 
from  being  scattered  and  torn  by  wolves.  A 
reindeer  weighs  from  three  to  four  hundred 
pounds.  The  winter  skins  are  heavier,  the  hair 
being  long  and  tipped  with  white,  giving  them 
a  hoary  appearance,  especially  on  the  back;  but 
the  hair  is  easily  broken  and  pulled  out,  a  fact 
which  renders  them  much  less  durable  when 
used  for  bedding,  tents,  or  clothing  than  those 
taken  in  summer,  when  the  hair  is  short,  and 
dark  blue,  almost  black.  Reindeer  hides  are 
easily  tanned;  those  tanned  in  Siberia  are  dyed 
a  rich  reddish-brown  on  the  inside  with  alder 
bark.  The  domestic  reindeer  skins  are  con 
sidered  better  than  those  of  the  wild  animals. 
Wrangell l  has  described  the  herds  as  affording 
a  grand  sight. 

At  this  point 2  the  Indians  from  the  interior, 
and  from  many  miles  up  and  down  the  coast, 
assemble  once  a  year  in  July  to  trade  with  each 

1  Admiral    Baron    Ferdinand    Petrovich    von  Wrangell, 
polar  explorer  and  Russian  Governor,  Administrator  of  the 
Russian-American  colonies,  1829-36. 

2  The  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound. 

141 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

other,  with  parties  of  Chukchis  who  come  from 
Siberia  in  umiaks,  and  with  the  few  schooners 
that  bring  goods  from  San  Francisco  and  from 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  After  trading  they  in 
dulge  in  games  of  wrestling,  playing  ball,  gam 
bling,  dancing,  and  drinking  whiskey,  if  they 
can  get  it.  Then  they  break  up  their  camps  and 
go  to  their  widely  scattered  homes,  some  a 
month's  journey  or  more  up  the  Inland  and 
down  the  Colville  Rivers.  They  now  have 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  tents  set  in  a  row 
along  the  beach,  their  light  kayaks  in  front  of 
the  tents  in  a  neat  row,  each  with  paddles  and 
spears  that  belong  to  it,  and  in  front  of  these  a 
row  of  large  skin  umiaks.  They  are  a  mixed, 
jolly  multitude,  wearing  different  ornaments, 
superb  fur  clothes,  or  shabby  foreign  articles; 
one  sees  long  hair,  short  hair,  or  closely  shaven; 
here  is  headgear  of  hats,  caps,  or  cowls,  and 
folk  who  go  bareheaded;  labrets,  too,  of  every 
conceivable  size,  color,  and  material  —  glass, 
stone,  beads,  ivory,  brass.  They  show  good 
taste  and  ingenuity  in  the  manufacture  of 
pipes,  weapons,  knickknacks  of  a  domestic 
kind,  utensils,  ornaments,  boats,  etc. 

Though  savage  and  sensual,  they  are  by  no 
means  dull  or  apathetic  like  the  sensual  sav 
ages  of  civilization,  who  live  only  to  eat  and 
indulge  the  senses,  for  these  Eskimos,  without 

142 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

newspapers  or  telegraphs,  know  all  that  is  go 
ing  on  within  hundreds  of  miles,  and  are  keen 
questioners  and  alive  to  everything  that  goes 
on  before  them.  They  dearly  like  to  gossip. 
One  tried  to  b,uy  some  of  the  cabin  boy's  hair, 
on  account  of  its  curious  whiteness;  another, 
who  has  red  hair,  is  followed  and  commented 
on  with  ludicrous  interest. 

The  shores  hereabouts  are  comparatively 
low,  the  hills,  back  a  few  miles  from  shore,  roll 
ing  and  of  moderate  height,  and  mountains  are 
to  be  seen  beyond. 

July  17.  The  northerly  wind  still  prevails; 
cloudy  all  day,  but  dry.  Left  the  Eskimo 
"Long  Branch"  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  sailed  to  Cape  Thompson,  where  we  mean 
to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  Eskimos  and 
inquire  whether  they  have  obtained  whiskey, 
from  any  of  the  traders,  contrary  to  law.  The 
coast  is  rather  low.  Mountains  are  visible 
thirty  miles  back;  low  hills  between. 

July  18.  Numerous  snow  squalls.   Came  to 

anchor  at  five  this  morning  in  the  lee  of  Point 

Hope.  Norther  blowing.  Remained  all  day  in 

company  with  the  Sea  Breeze.1   A  few  of  the 

natives   came   off   shore  —  good-natured  fel- 

1  A  whaling  bark. 

143 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

lows.  A  negro,  who  wintered  here  last  season, 
was  well  used  by  them,  for  he  was  given  the 
best  of  what  they  had.  He  had  lost  an  axe  over 
board,  so  the  story  goes,  and  deserted  on  ac 
count  of  trouble  he  had  over  the  matter  with 
the  second  officer  of  the  brig  Hidalgo.  He  was 
taken  on  board  again  this  spring. 

We  landed  and  walked  through  the  village. 
Found  a  fine  gravel  beach,  beautifully  flowered 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves.  Most  of  the 
natives  seem  to  be  away  —  at  the  summer 
gathering,  perhaps.  The  graveyard  is  of  great 
extent  and  very  conspicuous  from  the  custom 
of  surrounding  the  graves  with  poles. 

July  19.  Cold,  stiff,  north  wind;  clear.  Left 
our  anchorage  at  five  o'clock  this  morning  and 
proceeded  north,  but  found  the  gale  too  strong 
to  make  much  headway  and,  therefore,  turned 
back  and  anchored  at  Cape  Thompson,  thirty 
miles  south  of  Point  Hope.  Watering  ship  all 
day;  the  wind  is  blowing  hard.  Going  north 
again  since  seven  o'clock  this  evening.  Wind 
moderating  slightly. 

I  went  ashore  this  forenoon  and,  after  pass 
ing  a  few  minutes  interviewing  a  group  of  vaga 
bond  natives  from  Point  Hope  who  were 
camped  here  to  gather  eggs,  kill  murres,  and 
loaf,  I  pushed  on  up  the  hillside,  whose  sheer 

144 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

scarped  face  forms  the  Cape.  I  found  it  five 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  composed  of  cal 
careous  slates,  much  bent  and  contorted,  and 
a  considerable  portion  was  f  ossiliferous.  Where 
hills  of  this  rock  have  steep  slopes,  and  so  much 
drainage  and  wash  that  soil  is  not  allowed  to 
form,  nor  the  usual  moss  mantle  to  grow,  they 
bleach  white  and  present  a  remarkably  deso 
late  aspect  in  the  distance.  Such  hills  are  com 
mon  back  of  Kotzebue  Sound.  These  barren 
slopes,  however,  alternate  with  remarkably 
fertile  valleys,  where  flowers  of  fifty  or  more 
species  bloom  in  rich  profusion,  making  masses 
of  white,  purple,  and  blue.  Sometimes  this 
occurs  on  a  comparatively  thin  soil  where  the 
leaves  do  not  veil  the  rocky  ground ;  but  at  the 
bottom  of  the  valleys  there,  usually  is  a  green 
ground  below  the  bloom. 

The  slopes  over  which  I  passed  hi  to-day's 
walk  are  planted  chiefly  with  sweet  fern  — 
Dryas  —  with  its  yellowish-white  flowers.  A 
purple  silene  is  also  very  abundant,  making 
beautiful  bosses  of  color.  Phlox  is  present  in 
dwarfed  masses,  only  the  stems  and  leaves 
being  dwarfed,  not  the  flowers.  Anemones 
occur  in  fine  patches,  and  buttercups,  and  sev 
eral  species  of  daisies  and  lupines.  Dodecath- 
eon  I  met  here  for  the  first  time  this  season. 
Dwarf  willows  are  abundant.  There  was  one 

145 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

fern  and  one  heathwort  along  a  streamside. 
I  saw  no  true  tundra  here,  its  absence,  no 
doubt,  being  due  to  the  free  drainage  of  the 
surface.  The  winds  from  the  north  are  violent 
here,  as  evidenced  by  the  immense  snow-drifts 
still  unmelted  along  the  shore  where  we  landed, 
and  also  back  in  the  hollows  where  they  feed 
the  stream  at  which  we  got  water  for  the  ship. 
They  probably  will  last  all  summer.  This  cir 
cumstance,  of  course,  leaves  the  hill  slopes  all 
the  barer  and  dryer. 

The  trends  of  two  main  ridges,  of  which  I 
obtained  approximate  measurements,  probably 
coincide  with  the  direction  of  the  movement  of 
the  ice.  There  is  a  small  wasted  moraine  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  stream  valley,  extending  to 
the  shore.  Partial  after-glaciation  has  been 
light,  and  on  rocks  of  this  sort  has  left  only  very 
faint  traces. 

July  20.  Last  night  we  again  anchored  on 
the  south  side  of  Point  Hope,  the  norther  still 
blowing  hard.  About  noon  to-day  it  began 
to  abate,  and  we  again  pushed  off  northward. 
Now,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  are 
approaching  Cape  Lisburne,  a  bold  bluff  of 
gray  stratified  rocks  about  fifteen  hundred 
feet  high.  All  along  the  coast,  from  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  the  peculiar 

146 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

gray  color  of  the  rocks,  and  the  forms  into  which 
they  are  weathered  and  glaciated,  indicate  one 
continuous  formation,  partially  described  yes 
terday.  Magnificent  sections  are  exposed  be 
tween  the  north  side  of  Point  Hope  and  Cape 
Lisburne.  The  age  of  the  formation  I  do  not 
as  yet  certainly  know.  The  existence  of  coal- 
veins  here  and  there  in  connection  with  con 
glomerates,  and  the  few  fossils,  would  tend  to 
identify  it  as  Carboniferous,  though  some  of  the 
sections  show  a  wide  vertical  range.  Probably 
a  considerable  amount  of  the  formation,  is 
older.  The  few  fossils  I  have  seen  point  to  the 
Carboniferous,  or  older  formations. 

Between  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  this  fore 
noon  several  white  whales  were  seen  near  the 
shore,  showing  their  white  backs  above  the  y 
water  when  they  rose  to  breathe,  so  white  at 
a  little  distance  that  they  might  easily  have 
been  mistaken  for  breaking  waves.  We  saw  the 
Indians  shoot  and  kill  one,  and  went  ashore  to 
have  a  good  look  at  this  Beluga.  It  proved  to 
be  a  small  one,  only  about  seven  feet  long,  and 
of  a  pale  gray  ashen  color,  probably  a  young 
specimen.  In  general  form  it  is  like  a  whale, 
but  more  slender.  The  head  is  narrow  and 
rather  high  in  the  forehead.  The  eyes  are  very 
small,  about  five  eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
The  ears  are  hardly  visible,  would  scarcely 

147 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

admit  a  common  lead  pencil.  The  blow-hole, 
as  in  the  true  whales,  is  about  an  inch  in  diam 
eter.  The  forefeet,  the  only  limbs,  are  in  the 
form  of  short  flippers,  and  the  tail,  which  is 
large,  is  formed  by  an  expansion  of  the  thick 
skin.  They  are  more  nearly  related  to  the  dol 
phins  than  to  the  whales  —  the  dolphins,  por 
poises,  and  grampuses  forming  one  of  the  divi 
sions  of  the  three  Cetacea  delphinoidea. 

While  we  were  ashore  looking  at  this  speci 
men,  a  much  larger  one  came  along  parallel 
with  the  shore-line  and  not  more  than  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  from  it.  The  natives  were  on 
the  watch  and  shot  it  through  the  body  when 
it  rose  to  blow.  Instead  of  making  out  to  sea 
when  wounded,  it  kept  its  course  alongshore 
and  the  natives  followed  excitedly,  ready  to 
get  another  shot.  They  kept  it  in  sight  while 
it  was  ten  or  twelve  feet  under  water,  which 
they  were  enabled  to  do  on  account  of  its 
whiteness.  Eight  or  ten  men  jumped  into  a 
canoe  and  followed  it,  one  standing  in  the  bow 
with  a  spear.  After  swimming  about  half  a 
mile  and  receiving  four  or  more  bullets  from 
Henry  and  Winchester  rifles,  it  began  to  struggle 
and  die.  The  boat  came  up,  an  Eskimo  drove 
in  a  spear,  and  the  whale  was  taken  in  tow  and 
brought  back  to  where  the  first  was  killed,  the 
crew,  meanwhile,  singing  in  triumph.  Then  a 

148 


CARIBOU  AND  A  NATIVE  FAIR 

rolling  hitch  was  made,  and  a  dozen  willing 
hands  landed  the  animal,  a  female.  She  meas 
ured  about  twelve  feet  in  length  and  nine  in 
circumference.  They  at  once  began  to  eat  the 
tail  and  back  fin  raw,  cutting  off  blocks  of  it 
and  giving  it  to  the  children,  not  because  they 
were  hungry,  but  because  they  regarded  it  as  so 
very  palatable.  Then  a  fire  was  built  of  drift 
wood.  Looking  back  from  the  ship,  only  two 
red  spots  were  visible  on  the  beach  —  and  a 
group  of  fifty  feasting  Eskimos!  Probably  not 
a  bit  of  the  Belugas,  except  a  little  of  the  blub 
ber,  will  be  left  by  night. 

The  attitudes  of  the  riflemen,  legs  spread, 
rifle  to  shoulder,  and  eyes  vividly  on  the  alert,  . 
as  they  watched  the  animal's  appearance  above 
water,  were  very  striking.  These  animals  are 
quite  abundant  hereabouts,  and  used  to  be 
killed  with  spears  that  had  heads  made  of  stone 
or  ivory.  Whales  were  killed  in  the  same  man 
ner.  A  much  larger  number  of  right  whales  is 
killed  by  the  natives  about  the  shores  of  Bering 
Sea  and  along  the  polar  shores  than  is  supposed. 
Almost  every  village  gets  from  one  to  five  every 
season.  Then  comes  a  joyful  time.  The  bone 
belongs  to  the  boat's  crew  that  strikes  the 
whale,  the  carcass  to  all  the  village. 

A  mountain  slope  just  to  the  northeast  of 
Cape  Lisburne  is  so  covered  at  the  top  with 

149 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

slender,  spirey  columns  of  rock,  that  I  at  first 
glance  took  them  for  trees.  A  slight  dusting 
of  snow  has  lately  whitened  the  peaks.  To  the 
south  of  the  Cape  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  two 
small  valleys,  cut  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea, 
exhibit  terminal  and  lateral  moraines.  After- 
glaciation  has  been  light.  The  higher  moun 
tains  do  not  approach  the  coast  nearly.  No 
deep  fiords  like  those  of  the  west  coast. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE   POLAR  PACK 

July  21.  Rainy  this  forenoon,  clear  at  night. 
Wind  blowing  hard  from  the  southeast  and 
raising  a  heavy  swell.  Reached  Icy  Cape  about 
noon  and  found  to  our  disappointment  that, 
notwithstanding  the  openness  of  the  season, 
further  advance  northeastward  was  barred  by 
the  ice.  After  the  sky  began  to  clear  somewhat, 
and  the  rain  to  cease  falling,  we  observed  an 
ice-blink  stretching  all  around  the  northern 
horizon  for  several  hours  before  we  sighted  the 
ice,  a  peculiar  brown  and  yellow  band  within 
a  few  degrees  of  the  horizon.  There  was  a  dark 
belt  beneath  it,  which  indicated  water  beyond 
the  ice. 

We  then  turned  westward,  tracing  the  loose- 
drift  edge  of  the  pack  until  eight  in  the  eve 
ning,  when  we  turned  to  the  east  again,  intend 
ing  to  await  the  further  movements  of  the  ice 
for  a  few  days,  and  especially  a  change  of  wind 
to  blow  it  offshore.  There  is  a  coal-vein  be 
tween  here  and  Cape  Lisburne  which  we  will 
visit  and  mine  as  much  coal  as  possible,  in  case 
the  weather  permits.  But  as  there  is  no  shelter 

151 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

thereabouts,  we  may  not  be  able  to  obtain  any 
and  in  that  case  will  be  compelled  to  go  to 
Plover  Bay  for  our  next  supply. 

About  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Icy  Cape 
there  is  quite  a  large  settlement  l  of  Eskimos 
on  the  low,  sandy,  storm-swept  shore.  Cool 
and  breezy  must  be  their  lives,  and  they  can 
have  but  little  inducement  to  look  up,  or  time 
to  spend  in  contemplation.  Theirs  is  one  con 
stant  struggle  for  food,  interrupted  by  sleep 
and  by  a  few  common  quarrels.  In  winter  they 
hibernate  in  noisome  underground  dens.  In 
summer  they  come  out  to  take  breath  in  small 
conical  tents,  made  of  white  drill,  when  they 
can  get  it.  They  waved  a  piece  of  cloth  on  the 
end  of  a  pole  as  we  passed,  inviting  us  to  stop 
and  trade  with  them.  From  Cape  Lisburne  up 
the  coast  to  Point  Barrow  there  is  usually  a 
two-knot  current,  but  the  wind  and  the  ice 
have  completely  stopped  the  flow  at  present. 
The  sun  is  above  the  horizon  at  midnight. 

July  22.  A  dull,  leaden  day;  dark  fog  and 
rain  until  about  four  in  the  afternoon;  rained 
but  a  small  fraction  of  an  inch.  About  noon 
we  once  more  sighted  the  ice-pack.  The  heavy 
swell  of  the  sea  is  rapidly  subsiding  and  the 
wind  is  veering  to  the  northeast.  We  hope  it 

1  Ututok? 
152 


ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE  POLAR  PACK 

will  move  the  ice  offshore  and  allow  us  to  round 
Point  Barrow.  The  pack  is  close  and  impene 
trable,  though  made  up  of  far  smaller  blocks 
than  usual,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  mildness 
of  last  winter,  and  to  the  chafing  and  pounding 
of  a  succession  of  gales  that  have  been  driving 
over  it  at  intervals  all  the  spring.  We  pushed 
into  it  through  the  loose  outer  fringe,  but  soon 
turned  back  when  we  found  that  it  stretched 
all  around  from  the  shore.  By  retreating  we 
avoided  the  danger  of  getting  fixed  in  it  and 
carried  away.  Nearly  all  the  vessels  that  have 
been  lost  in  the  Arctic  have  been  caught 
hereabouts. 

The  approach  to  the  ice  was  signalized  by 
the  appearance  of  walruses,  seals,  and  ducks. 
The  walrus  is  very  abundant  here,  and  when 
whales  are  scarce  the  whalers  hunt  and  kill 
great  numbers  of  them  for  their  ivory  and  oil. 
They  are  found  on  cakes  of  ice  in  hundreds, 
and  if  a  party  of  riflemen  can  get  near,  by 
creeping  up  behind  some  hummock,  and  kill 
the  one  on  guard,  the  rest  seem  to  be  heedless 
of  noise  after  the  first  shot,  and  wait  until 
nearly  all  are  killed.  But  if  the  first  be  only 
wounded,  and  plunges  into  the  water,  the  whole 
"pod"  is  likely  to  follow.  Came  to  anchor  at 
half-past  ten  this  evening,  a  little  to  the  south 
of  Icy  Cape. 

153    . 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

July  23.  Clear  and  calm.  Weighed  anchor 
at  eight  in  the  morning  and  ran  close  inshore, 
anchored,  and  landed  with  instruments  to 
make  exact  measurements  for  latitude  and 
longitude,  and  to  observe  the  dip.  I  also  went 
ashore  to  see  the  vegetation,  and  Nelson  to 
seek  birds  and  look  for  Eskimo  specimens. 
Found  only  four  plants  in  bloom  —  saxifrage, 
willow,  artemisia,  and  draba.  This  is  the  bleak 
est  and  barest  spot  of  all.  Well  named  Icy 
Cape.  A  low  bar  of  sand  and  shingle  shoved 
up  by  the  ice  that  is  crowded  against  the  shore 
every  year.  Inside  this  bar,  which  is  only  a 
hundred  yards  wide,  there  is  a  stretch  of  water 
several  miles  wide;  then,  low  gravelly  coast. 
Sedges  and  grasses,  dwarfed  and  frost-bitten, 
constitute  the  bulk  of  the  flora. 

We  noticed  traces  of  Eskimo  enca'mpments. 
There  was  blubber  in  abundance  from  a  dead 
whale  that  had  been  cast  up  on  the  shore. 
They  had  plenty  of  food  when  they  left.  But 
before  this  they  must  have  been  hungry,  for 
we  found  remains  of  dogs  that  they  had  been 
eating;  also,  white  foxes'  bones,  picked  clean. 
Found  a  dead  walrus  on  the  beach  beyond  the 
wreck  of  the  whale. 

At  one  in  the  afternoon  we  weighed  anchor 
and  turned  north,  crossing  inside  of  Blossom 
Shoals,  which  are  successive  ridges  pushed  up 

154 


ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE    POLAR  PACK 

by  the  ice,  and  extending  ten  or  twelve  miles 
offshore.  In  a  few  hours  we  reached  the  limit 
of  open  water.  The  ice  extended  out  from  the 
shore,  leaving  no  way.  Turned  again  to  the 
south.  Sighted  the  bark  Northern  Light l  and 
made  up  to  her.  She  showed  grandly  with  her 
white  canvas  on  the  dark  water,  now  nearly 
calm.  Ice  just  ahead  as  we  accompanied  her 
northward  while  the  Captain  visited  her.  The 
sun  is  low  in  the  northwest  at  nine  o'clock.  A 
lovely  evening,  bracing,  cool,  with  a  light  breeze 
blowing  over  the  polar  pack.  The  ice  is  mar- 
velously  distorted  and  miraged;  thousands  of 
blocks  seem  suspended  in  the  air;  some  even 
poised  on  slender  black  poles  and  pinnacles; 
a  bridge  of  ice  with  innumerable  piers,  the  ice 
and  water  wavering  with  quick,  glancing  mo 
tion.  At  midnight  the  sun  is  still  above  the 
horizon  about  two  diameters;  purple  to  west 
and  east,  gradually  fading  to  dark  slate  color 
in  the  south  with  a  few  banks  of  cloud.  A  bar 
of  gold  in  the  path  of  the  sun  lay  on  the  water 
and  across  the  pack,  the  large  blocks  in  the  line 
[of  vision]  burning  like  huge  coals  of  fire. 

A  little  schooner 2  has  a  boat  out  in  the  edge 
of  the  pack  killing  walruses,  while  she  is  lying 
a  little  to  east  of  the  sun.  A  puff  of  smoke  now 
and  then,  a  dull  report,  and  a  huge  animal  rears 

1  A  whaler.         2  The  R.  B.  Handy,  Captain  Winants. 
155 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

and  falls  —  another,  and  another,  as  they  lie 
on  the  ice  without  showing  any  alarm,  waiting 
to  be  killed,  like  cattle  lying  in  a  barnyard! 
Nearer,  we  hear  the  roar,  lion-like,  mixed  with 
hoarse  grunts,  from  hundreds  like  black  bundles 
on  the  white  ice.  A  small  red  flag  is  planted 
near  the  pile  of  slain.  Then  the  three  men  puff 
off  to  their  schooner,  as  it  is  now  midnight  and 
time  for  the  other  watch  to  go  to  work. 

These  magnificent  animals  are  killed  often 
times  for  their  tusks  alone,  like  buffaloes  for 
their  tongues,  ostriches  for  their  feathers,  or  for 
mere  sport  and  exercise.  In  nothing  does  man, 
with  his  grand  notions  of  heaven  and  charity, 
show  forth  his  innate,  low-bred,  wild  animal 
ism  more  clearly  than  in  his  treatment  of  his 
brother  beasts.  From  the  shepherd  with  his 
lambs  to  the  red-handed  hunter,  it  is  the  same; 
no  recognition  of  rights  —  only  murder  in  one 
form  or  another. 

July  24..  A  lovely  morning,  sunful,  calm, 
clear;  a  broad  swath  of  silver  spangles  in  the 
path  of  the  sun;  ice-blink  to  the  north;  a  pale 
sky  to  the .  east  and  around  to  the  south  and 
west;  blue  above,  not  deep  blue;  several  ships 
in  sight.  Sabbath  bells  are  all  that  is  required 
to  make  a  Sabbath  of  the  day. 

Ran  inshore  opposite  the  Eskimo  village; 

156 


ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE  POLAR  PACK 

about  a  hundred  came  off.  Good-natured  as 
usual.  A  few  biscuits  and  a  little  coaxing  from 
the  sailors  made  them  sing  and  dance.  The 
Eskimo  women  laughed  as  heartily  at  the  curi 
ous  and  extravagant  gestures  of  the  men  as  any 
of  the  sailors  did.  They  were  anxious  to  know 
what  was  the  real  object  of  the  Corwin's  cruise, 
and  when  the  steam  whaler  Belvedere  hove  in 
sight  they  inquired  whether  she  had  big  guns 
and  was  the  same  kind  of  ship.  Our  interpreter 
explained  as  well  as  he  could. 

In  the  afternoon  we  had  the  Sea  Breeze,  the 
Sappho,  the  Northern  Light,  and  the  schooner 
about  us.  The  steam  whaler  had  only  six 
whales.  He  had  struck  ten,  taken  four,  and 
found  two  dead.  Last  year  he  took  twenty- 
seven.  The  whales  were  in  windrows  then;  at 
one  time  twenty-five  were  so  near  that  no  gaps 
between  them  were  so  wide  but  that  a  man 
could  strike  on  either  side.  They  were  more 
abundant  last  year  on  the  American  coast; 
this  year,  on  the  Asiatic.  They  are  always 
more  abundant  in  spring  and  fall  than  during 
the  summer. 

Had  a  graphic  account,  from  Captain  Owen, 
of  the  loss  of  the  thirty-three  ships  of  the  whal 
ing  fleet  near  Point  Barrow  in  1874.  Caution 
inculcated  by  such  experiences.  Anchored  this 
evening  near  the  Belvedere  and  four  other  ves- 
157 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWEST 

sels.  The  schooner  people  complain  that  this  is 
a  bad  year  for  "walrusing";  ice  too  thin;  after 
killing  a  few  the  hot  blood  so  weakens  the  ice 
that  in  their  struggles  they  break  it  and  then 
fall  in  and  sink. 

July  25.  Steamed  northward  again,  intend 
ing,  after  reaching  the  ice,  to  make  an  effort 
to  go  to  Point  Barrow  with  the  steam  launch, 
and  the  lifeboat  in  tow,  to  seek  the  Daniel 
Webster,  and  offer  aid  if  necessary.  [This 
whaler  is]  now  shut  in  about  Point  Belcher. 
We  found,  however,  that  the  ice  was  shoved 
close  inshore  south  of  Icy  Cape,  and  extended 
in  a  dense  pack  from  there  to  the  southwest, 
leaving  no  boat  channel  even.  This  plan  was 
therefore  abandoned  with  great  reluctance,  and 
we  again  moved  southward,  intending  to  coal, 
if  the  weather  allowed,  near  Cape  Lisburne. 
Calm,  lovely  night;  slight  breeze;  going  slowly 
under  sail  alone. 

July  26.  Lovely  day;  gentle  breeze.  Eight 
vessels  in  sight  this  morning.  The  Belvedere 
got  under  sail  and  is  proceeding  southward 
with  us.  Mirages  in  wonderful  variety;  ships 
pulled  up  and  to  either  side,  out  of  all  recogni 
tion;  the  coast,  with  snow-patches  as  gaps, 
pulled  up  and  stratified;  the  snow  looking  like 

158 


ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE  POLAR  PACK 

arched  openings  in  a  dark  bridge  above  the 
waters.  About  nine-thirty  we  noticed  a  rare 
effect  just  beneath  the  sun  —  a  faint,  black, 
indefinite,  cloudlike  bar  extended  along  the 
horizon,  and  immediately  beyond  this  dark  bar 
there  was  a  strip  of  bright,  keenly  defined  colors 
like  a  showy  spectrum,  containing  nearly  all 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 

July  27.  A  lovely  day,  bright  and  calm  and 
warm.  Coaling  ship  from  a  vein  in  a  sandstone 
cliff  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Lisburne. 
In  company  with  the  Belvedere.  Seeking  fos 
sils.  Discovered  only  two  species  of  plants. 
Coal  abundant.  Mined,  took  out,  and  brought 
on  board  fifteen  tons  to-day.  The  Belvedere 
also  is  coaling  and  taking  on  water.  Three 
Eskimo  canoes  came  from  the  south  this  eve 
ning  and  camped  at  the  stream  which  flows  into 
the  sea  on  the  north  side  of  the  coal  bluff.  The 
dogs  followed  the  canoes  alongshore.  After 
camping  they  came  alongside,  but  not  before 
their  repeated  signs  of  peace,  consisting  of 
throwing  up  hands  and  shouting  "Tima,"  were 
answered  by  the  officer  of  the  deck.  This  cus 
tom  seems  to  be  dying  out,  also  that  of  em 
bracing  and  nose-rubbing. 

July  28.  Lovely,  tranquil  day,  all  sunshine. 

159 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

Taking  coal  until  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon. 
Then  sailed  toward  Herald  Island.  I  spent  the 
forenoon  along  the  face  of  the  shore  cliffs,  seek 
ing  fossils.  Discovered  only  four,  all  plants. 
Went  three  miles  westward.  Heavy  snowbank, 
leaning  back  in  the  shadow  most  of  the  dis 
tance,  almost  changing  to  ice;  very  deep  and 
of  several  years'  formation  —  not  less  than 
forty  feet  in  many  places.  The  cliffs  or  bluffs 
are  from  two  hundred  to  nearly  four  hundred 
feet  high,  composed  of  sandstone,  coal,  and 
conglomerate,  the  latter  predominating.  Great 
thickness  of  sediments;  a  mile  or  more  visible 
on  upturned  edges,  which  give  a  furrowed  sur 
face  by  unequal  weathering.  Some  good  bi 
tuminous  coal;  burns  well.  Veins  forty  feet 
thick,  more  or  less  interrupted  by  clayey  or 
sandy  strata.  Fossils  not  abundant. 

While  I  was  scratching  the  rocks  for  some 
light  on  the  history  of  their  formation,  eight 
canoe  loads  of  Eskimos  with  all  their  goods, 
tents,  children,  etc.,  passed  close  along  the 
shore,  going  toward  Icy  Cape;  all  except  one 
were  drawn  by  dogs  —  from  three  to  five  to 
each  canoe  —  attached  by  a  long  string  of  wal 
rus  hide,  and  driven  by  a  woman,  or  half -grown 
girl,  or  boy.  "Ooch,  ooch,  ooch,"  they  said, 
while  urging  them  along.  They  dragged  the 
canoe  with  perhaps  two  tons  altogether  at  two 

160 


ZIGZAGS  AMONG  THE  POLAR    PACK 

and  one  half  miles  per  hour.   When  they  came 
to  a  sheer  bluff  the  dogs  swam  and  the  driv 
ers  got  into  the  canoe  until  the  beach  again 
admitted  of  tracking.  The  canoe  that  had  no 
dogs  was  paddled  and  rowed  by  both  men  and 
women.    One  woman,  pulling  an  oar  on  the 
starboard  bow,  was  naked  to  the  waist.  They 
came    from    Point  Hope,    and   arrived   last 
evening  at  a  camping-ground  on  the  edge  of  a 
stream  opposite  the  Corwin's  anchorage.  This 
morning  they  had  eight  tents  and  all  the  food, 
canoes,  arms,  dogs,  babies,  and  rubbish  that 
belong  to  a  village.    The  encampment  looked 
like  a  settled  village  that  had  grown  up  by  en 
chantment.  Only  one  was  left  after  ten  in  the 
morning,   the  occupants  busying  themselves 
caching  blubber  of  walrus.    In  the  sunshine 
some  of  the  children  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  run 
ning  about  naked. 

Eleven-thirty;  a  calm  evening.  The  sun  has 
just  set,  its  disk  curiously  distorted  by  refrac 
tion  and  light  diminished  by  vaporous  haze, 
so  that  it  could  be  looked  at,  a  glorious  orb  of 
crimson  and  gold  with  a  crisp  surface.  .  .  . 
Horizontal  layers  of  color,  piled  on  each  other 
evenly,  made  the  whole  look  like  cheese  of  dif 
ferent  sizes  laid  neatly  one  on  top  of  the  other. 
Sketched  the  various  phases.  It  set  as  a  flat 
crimson  cake  of  dull  red.  No-  cloud;  only 

161 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

haze,  dark  at  the  horizon,  purple  higher,  and 
then  yellow. 

July  29.  Calm,  lovely,  sunny  day.  Ther 
mometer  standing  at  50°  F,  in  the  shade;  warm 
in  the  sun;  the  water  smooth  with  streaks; 
ruffled,  like  an  alpine  lake;  mostly  glassy, 
stirred  with  irregular  breaths  of  air.  Ice  visi 
ble  about  noon,  near  "Post-Office  Point."  l 
Fine-grained,  hazy,  luminous  mist  about  the 
horizon.  A  few  gulls  and  ducks.  Sun  barely 
dipped  beneath  the  horizon.  Curiously  mod 
eled  by  refraction;  bars  dividing  in  sections 
always  horizontal.  Ducks  flying  at  midnight. 

July  80.  Another  glassy,  calm  day,  all  sun 
shine  from  midnight  to  midnight.  Kotzebue's 
gull,  the  kittiwake,  about  the  ship ;  no  seals  or 
walrus.  Herald  Island  came  in  sight  about  one 
o'clock.  At  a  distance  of  eight  to  ten  miles  we 
reached  the  ice,  but  made  our  way  through  it, 
as  it  was  mostly  light  and  had  openings  here 
and  there.  But  we  suffered  some  hard  bumps; 
pushed  slowly  and  got  close  alongside,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  crew. 

1  Said  to  be  a  point  north  of  Bering  Strait  in  the  Arctic 
Ocean  where,  for  some  reason,  the  drift  of  oceanic  currents 
is  not  strong.  Whalers  and  other  vessels  customarily  went 
there  to  exchange  mail  and  news. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FIEST  ASCENT   OF   HERALD   ISLAND 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Off  Herald  Island,  Arctic  Ocean, 

July  81,  1881. 

WE  left  Herald  Island  this  morning  at  three 
o'clock,  after  landing  upon  it  and  exploring  it 
pretty  thoroughly  from  end  to  end.  On  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-fifth  we  were  steaming 
along  the  coast  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of  Icy 
Cape,  intending  to  make  an  effort  to  reach 
Point  Barrow  in  order  to  give  aid  to  the  whale- 
ship  Daniel  Webster,  which  we  learned  was 
beset  in  the  ice  thereabouts  and  was  in  great 
danger  of  being  lost. 

We  found,  however,  that  the  pack  extended 
solidly  from  Icy  Cape  to  the  southward  and 
pressed  so  hard  against  the  shore  that  we  saw 
it  would  be  impossible  to  proceed  even  with 
the  steam  launch.  We  therefore  turned  back 
with  great  reluctance  and  came  to  anchor  near 
Cape  Lisburne,  where  we  mined  and  took  on 
about  thirty  tons  of  coal.  About  half-past  four 
in  the  afternoon,  July  twenty-eighth,  we  hoisted 
anchor  and  sailed  toward  Herald  Island,  in 
tending  to  make  a  general  survey  of  the  edge  of 

163 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

the  great  polar  ice-pack  about  Wrangell  Land, 
hardly  hoping  to  be  able  to  effect  a  landing  so 
early  in  the  season. 

On  the  evening  of  the  thirtieth  we  reached 
Herald  Island,  having  been  favored  with  de 
lightful  weather  all  the  way,  the  ocean  being 
calm  and  glassy  as  a  mountain  lake,  the  surface 
stirred  gently  here  and  there  with  irregular 
breaths  of  air  that  could  hardly  be  called  winds, 
and  the  whole  of  this  day  from  midnight  to 
midnight  was  all  sunshine,  contrasting  mar- 
velously  with  the  dark,  icy  storm-days  we  had 
experienced  so  short  a  time  ago. 

Herald  Island  came  in  sight  at  one  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  when  we  reached  the  edge 
of  the  pack  it  was  still  about  ten  miles  distant. 
We  made  our  way  through  it,  however,  with 
out  great  difficulty,  as  the  ice  was  mostly  light 
and  had  openings  of  clear  water  here  and  there, 
though  in  some  close-packed  fields  the  Cor- 
win  was  pretty  roughly  bumped,  and  had  to 
steam  her  best  to  force  a  passage.  At  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening  we  came  to  anchor  in  the 
midst  of  huge  cakes  and  blocks  about  sixty-five 
feet  thick  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards 
of  the  shore. 

After  so  many  futile  efforts  had  been  made 
last  year  to  reach  this  little  ice-bound  island, 
everybody  seemed  wildly  eager  to  run  ashore 

164 


rtg* 


J&$!r       / 

<&%**&&         ^ 
<&?%»    ^"5?          ^^ 


FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD  ISLAND 

and  climb  to  the  summit  of  its  sheer  granite 
cliffs.  At  first  a  party  of  eight  jumped  from  the 
bowsprit  chains  and  ran  across  the  narrow  belt 
of  margin  ice  and  madly  began  to  climb  up  an 
excessively  steep  gully,  which  came  to  an  end 
in  an  inaccessible  slope  a  few  hundred  feet 
above  the  water.  Those  ahead  loosened  and 
sent  down  a  train  of  granite  boulders,  which 
shot  over  the  heads  of  those  below  in  a  far 
more  dangerous  manner  than  any  of  the  party 
seemed  to  appreciate.  Fortunately,  nobody  was 
hurt,  and  all  made  out  to  get  down  in  safety.1 

1  Captain  Hooper's  report  of  the  incident  and  of  Muir's 
skillful  ascent  of  the  island  adds  some  interesting  details:  — 

"  Muir,  who  is  an  experienced  mountaineer,  came  over 
the  ice  with  an  axe  in  his  hand,  and,  reaching  the  island  a  few 
hundred  feet  farther  north,  opposite  a  bank  of  frozen  snow 
and  ice  a  hundred  feet  high,  standing  at  an  angle  of  50°,  he 
deliberately  commenced  cutting  steps  and  ascending  the  ice 
cliff,  the  top  of  which  he  soon  reached  without  apparent  dif 
ficulty,  and  from  there  the  top  of  the  island  was  reached  by 
a  gradual  ascent  neither  difficult  nor  dangerous. 

"  While  approaching  the  island,  by  a  careful  examination 
with  the  glass,  Muir's  practiced  eye  had  easily  selected  the 
most  suitable  place  for  making  the  ascent.  The  place  selected 
by  the  others,  or  rather  the  place  upon  which  they  stumbled, 
—  for  the  attempt  to  ascend  was  made  on  the  first  point 
reached,  —  was  a  small,  steep  ravine  about  two  hundred  feet 
deep.  The  jagged  nature  of  its  steep  sides  made  climbing 
possible,  and  from  the  sea-level  the  top  of  this  ravine  ap 
peared  to  these  ambitious  but  inexperienced  mountain- 
climbers  to  be  the  top  of  the  island.  After  several  narrow 
escapes  from  falling  rocks  they  succeeded  in  gaining  the  top 
of  the  ravine,  when  they  discovered  that  the  ascent  was 
hardly  begun.  Above  them  was  a  plain  surface  of  nearly  a 
thousand  feet  in  height,  and  so  steep  that  the  loose,  disin- 

165 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

While  this  remarkable  piece  of  mountain 
eering  and  Arctic  exploration  was  in  progress, 
a  light  skin-covered  boat  was  dragged  over  the 
ice  and  launched  on  a  strip  of  water  that 
stretched  in  front  of  an  accessible  ravine,  the 
bed  of  an  ancient  glacier,  which  I  felt  assured 
would  conduct  by  an  easy  grade  to  the  sum 
mit  of  the  island.  The  slope  of  this  ravine  for 
the  first  hundred  feet  or  so  was  very  steep,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  was  full  of  firm,  icy  snow,  it  was 
easily  ascended  by  cutting  steps  in  the  face 
of  it  with  an  axe  that  I  had  brought  from  the 
ship  for  the  purpose.  Beyond  this  there  was 
not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  our  way,  the 
glacier  having  graded  a  fine,  broad  road. 

Kellett,  who  discovered  this  island  in  1849, 
and  landed  on  it  under  unfavorable  circum- 

tegrating  rock  with  which  it  was  covered  gave  way  on  the 
slightest  touch  and  came  thundering  to  the  bottom.  Some 
of  the  more  ambitious  were  still  anxious  to  keep  on,  notwith 
standing  the  difficulty  and  danger,  and  I  found  it  necessary 
to  interpose  my  authority  to  prevent  this  useless  risk  of  life 
and  limb.  A  retreat  was  ordered,  and  with  a  good  deal  of 
difficulty  accomplished.  The  descent  had  to  be  made  one 
at  a  time,  the  upper  ones  remaining  quiet  until  those  below 
were  out  of  danger.  Fortunately,  all  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  bottom  in  safety.  In  the  mean  time  Muir  and  several 
others  had  reached  the  top  of  the  island  and  were  already 
searching  for  cairns  or  other  signs  of  white  men.  Although 
the  search  was  kept  up  until  half-past  two  in  the  morning, 
nothing  was  found."  (C.  L.  Hooper's  Report  of  the  Cruise  of 
the  U.S.  Revenue  Steamer  Thomas  Corwin  in  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
1881,  p.  52.) 

166 


FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD  ISLAND 

stances,  described  it  as  "an  inaccessible  rock." 
In  general  the  sides  are,  indeed,  extremely 
sheer  and  precipitous  all  around,  though  skilled 
mountaineers  would  find  many  gullies  and 
slopes  by  which  they  might  reach  the  summit. 
I  first  pushed  on  to  the  head  of  the  glacier  val 
ley,  and  thence  along  the  blackbone  of  the  is 
land  to  the  highest  point,  which  I  found  to  be 
about  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  This  point  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  northwest  end,  and  four  and  a  half 
from  the  northeast  end,  thus  making  the  is 
land  about  six  miles  in  length.  It  has  been  cut 
nearly  in  two  by  the  glacial  action  it  has  under 
gone,  the  width  at  the  lowest  portion  being 
about  half  a  mile,  and  the  average  width  about 
two  miles. 

The  entire  island  is  a  mass  of  granite,  with 
the  exception  of  a  patch  of  metamorphic  slate 
near  the  center,  and  no  doubt  owes  its  ex 
istence,  with  so  considerable  a  height,  to  the 
superior  resistance  this  granite  offered  to  the 
degrading  action  of  the  northern  ice-sheet, 
traces  of  which  are  here  plainly  shown,  as  well 
as  on  the  shores  of  Siberia  and  Alaska  and  down 
through  Bering  Strait  southward  beyond  Van 
couver  Island.  Traces  of  the  subsequent  par 
tial  glaciation  to  which  it  has  been  subjected 
are  also  manifested  in  glacial  valleys  of  con- 
167 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

siderable  depth  as  compared  with  the  size  of 
the  island.  I  noticed  four  of  these,  besides  many 
marginal  glacial  grooves  around  the  sides.  One 
small  remnant  [of  a  glacier]  with  feeble  action 
still  exists  near  the  middle  of  the  island.  I  also 
noted  several  scored  and  polished  patches  on 
the  hardest  and  most  enduring  of  the  outswell- 
ing  rock-bosses.  This  little  island,  standing  as 
it  does  alone  out  in  the  Polar  Sea,  is  a  fine  gla 
cial  monument. 

The  midnight  hour  I  spent  alone  on  the 
highest  summit  —  one  of  the  most  impressive 
hours  of  my  life.  The  deepest  silence  seemed 
to  press  down  on  all  the  vast,  immeasurable, 
virgin  landscape.  The  sun  near  the  horizon 
reddened  the  edges  of  belted  cloud-bars  near 
the  base  of  the  sky,  and  the  jagged  ice-boulders 
crowded  together  over  the  frozen  ocean  stretch 
ing  indefinitely  northward,  while  perhaps  a 
hundred  miles  of  that  mysterious  Wrangell 
Land  was  seen  blue  in  the  northwest  —  a  waver 
ing  line  of  hill  and  dale  over  the  white  and  blue 
ice-prairie!  Pale  gray  mountains  loomed  be 
yond,  well  calculated  to  fix  the  eye  of  a  moun 
taineer.  But  it  was  to  the  far  north  that  I  ever 
found  myself  turning,  to  where  the  ice  met  the 
sky.  I  would  fain  have  watched  here  all  the 
strange  night,  but  was  compelled  to  remember 
the  charge  given  me  by  the  Captain,  to  make 
168 


FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD  ISLAND 

haste  and  return  to  the  ship  as  soon  as  I  should 
find  it  possible,  as  there  was  ten  miles  of  shift 
ing,  drifting  ice  between  us  and  the  open  sea. 

I  therefore  began  the  return  journey  about 
one  o'clock  this  morning,  after  taking  the  com 
pass  bearings  of  the  principal  points  within 
sight  on  Wrangell  Land,  and  making  a  hasty 
collection  of  the  flowering  plants  on  my  way. 
I  found  one  species  of  poppy  quite  showy,  and 
making  considerable  masses  of  color  on  the 
sloping  uplands,  three  or  four  species  of  saxi 
frage,  one  silene,  a  draba,  dwarf  willow,  stel- 
laria,  two  golden  composite,  two  sedges,  one 
grass,  and  a  veronica,  together  with  a  consider 
able  number  of  mosses  and  lichens,  some  of 
them  quite  showy  and  so  abundant  as  to  fur 
nish  most  of  the  color  over  the  gray  granite. 

Innumerable  gulls  and  murres  breed  on  the 
steep  cliffs,  the  latter  most  abundant.  They 
kept  up  a  constant  din  of  domestic  notes.  Some 
of 'them  are  sitting  on  their  eggs,  others  have 
young,  and  it  seems  astonishing  that  either 
eggs  or  the  young  can  find  a  resting-place  on 
cliffs  so  severely  precipitous.  The  nurseries 
formed  a  lively  picture  —  the  parents  coming 
and  going  with  food  or  to  seek  it,  thousands  in 
rows  standing  on  narrow  ledges  like  bottles 
on  a  grocer's  shelves,  the  feeding  of  the  little 
ones,  the  multitude  of  wings,  etc. 
169 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

Foxes  were  seen  by  Mr.  Nelson  l  near  the 
top  of  the  northeast  end  of  the  island,  and  after 
we  had  all  returned  to  the  ship  and  were  get 
ting  under  way,  the  Captain  discovered  a  polar 
bear  swimming  deliberately  toward  the  ship 
between  some  floating  blocks  within  a  few 
yards  of  us.  After  he  had  approached  within 
about  a  dozen  yards  the  Captain  shot  at  him, 
when  he  turned  and  made  haste  to  get  away, 
not  diving,  however,  but  swimming  fast,  and 
keeping  his  head  turned  to  watch  the  ship, 

1  In  a  recent  article  on  "  The  Larger  North  American 
Mammals"  Mr.  E.  W.  Nelson  has  given  the  following  ac 
count  of  this  incident:  — 

"The  summer  of  1881,  when  we  landed  from  the  Corwin 
on  Herald  Island,  northwest  of  Bering  Straits,  we  found 
many  white  foxes  living  in  burrows  under  large  scattered 
rocks  on  the  plateau  summit.  They  had  never  seen  men  be 
fore  and  our  presence  excited  their  most  intense  interest  and 
curiosity.  One  and  sometimes  two  of  them  followed  closely 
at  my  heels  wherever  I  went,  and  when  I  stopped  to  make 
notes  or  look  about,  sat  down  and  watched  me  with  absurd 
gravity.  Now  and  then  one  at  a  distance  would  mount  a 
rock  to  get  a  better  view  of  the  stranger. 

"  On  returning  to  the  ship,  I  remembered  that  my  note 
book  had  been  left  on  a  large  rock  over  a  fox  den,  on  the 
island,  and  at  once  went  back  for  it.  I  had  been  gone  only  a 
short  time,  but  no  trace  of  the  book  could  be  found  on  or 
about  the  rock,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  owner  of  the  den 
had  confiscated  it.  Several  other  foxes  sat  about  viewing  my 
search  with  interest  and  when  I  left  followed  me  to  the  edge 
of  the  island.  A  nearly  grown  young  one  kept  on  the  Corwin 
was  extraordinarily  intelligent,  inquisitive,  and  mischievous, 
and  afforded  all  of  us  much  amusement  and  occasional  ex 
asperation."  (National  Geographic  Magazine,  November, 
1916,  p.  425.) 

170 


FIRST  ASCENT  OF  HERALD  ISLAND 

until  at  length  he  received  a  ball  in  the  neck 
and  stained  the  blue  water  with  his  blood.  He 
was  a  noble-looking  animal  and  of  enormous 
strength,  living  bravely  and  warm  amid 
eternal  ice. 

We  looked  carefully  everywhere  for  traces  of 
the  crew  of  the  Jeannette  along  the  shore,  as 
well  as  on  the  prominent  headlands  and  cliffs 
about  the  summit,  without  discovering  the 
faintest  sign  of  their  ever  having  touched  the 
island. 

We  have  been  steaming  along  the  edge  of 
the  pack  all  day  after  reaching  open  water, 
with  Wrangell  Land  constantly  in  sight;  but 
we  find  that  the  ice  has  been  sheering  us  off 
farther  and  farther  from  it  toward  the  west  and 
south.  The  margin  of  the  main  pack  has  a 
jagged  saw-tooth  outline,  the  teeth  being  from 
two  to  ten  miles  or  more  in  length,  and  their 
points  reaching  about  forty  miles  from  the 
shore  of  Wrangell  Land.  Our  chances,  how 
ever,  of  reaching  this  mysterious  country  some 
time  this  year  seem  good  at  present,  as  the  ice 
is  melting  fast  and  is  much  lighter  than  usual, 
and  its  wind  and  current  movements,  after  it 
breaks  up,  will  be  closely  watched  for  an  avail 
able  opening. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

APPROACHING   A   MYSTERIOUS   LAND 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Off  Point  Barrow,  August  16,  1881. 

WE  left  Herald  Island  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  July  31.  The  clear  water  seen  by 
me  from  the  top  of  the  island  is  called  "the 
Hole"  by  whalers.  I  am  told  that  it  is  remark 
ably  constant  in  its  appearance  and  position 
from  year  to  year.  What  combination  of  cur 
rents,  coast-lines,  winds,  etc.,  is  the  cause  of 
it  is  not  yet  known.  Neither  is  the  Post-Office 
Point  of  ice  understood. 

On  the  day  after  leaving  Herald  Island  the 
fine  weather  we  had  been  enjoying  for  a  week 
began  to  vanish,  heavy  cloud-piles  grew  about 
the  horizon,  and  reeking  fogs  over  the  ice.  We 
kept  on  around  the  serrated  edge  of  the  pack, 
and  were  glad  to  find  a  wide  opening  trending 
to  the  northwest,  that  is,  toward  the  south- 
most  point  of  Wrangell  Land.  Up  we  steamed, 
excited  with  bright  hopes  of  effecting  a  land 
ing  and  searching  the  shores  for  traces  of  the 
Jeannette.  In  the  afternoon,  while  yet  our  way 
was  tolerably  clear,  and  after  the  land  had  been 
long  in  sight,  we  were  enveloped  in  fog,  and 
172 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

hove  to,  instead  of  attempting  to  grope  a 
course  through  the  drift  ice  and  running  the 
danger  of  getting  the  ship  embayed.  A  few 
seals,  gulls,  and  walruses  were  observed. 

Next  day,  August  2,  the  fog  lifted  early  in 
the  morning,  when  we  got  under  way  and 
pushed  hopefully  onward  once  more,  with  the 
mountains  and  blue  foothills  of  the  long-lost 
land  in  full  view,  until  noon,  making  our  way 
easily  through  the  drift  ice,  dodging  to  right 
and  left  past  the  large  masses,  some  of  which 
were  a  mile  or  more  in  length.  Then  the  fog 
began  to  settle  again  over  all  the  wild  land 
scape;  the  barometer  was  falling,  and  the  wind 
began  to  blow  with  indications  of  a  stiff  breeze 
that  would  probably  press  the  ice  toward  the 
shore.  Under  these  conditions  we  dared  not 
venture  farther,  but  loath  to  turn  back  we 
made  fast  to  an  ice-floe  and  waited  develop 
ments.  The  fog  partially  cleared  again,  which 
induced  us  to  make  another  short  push  ahead, 
but  our  hopes  were  again  and  again  baffled  by 
darkness  and  close-packed  ice,  and  we  were  at 
length  compelled  to  seek  the  open  water  once 
more,  and  await  a  general  calm  and  clearance. 

A  piece  of  wood  twenty-seven  inches  long, 

cut  with  a  sharp  axe,  was  picked  up  in  the 

morning   within,  perhaps,   twenty-five    miles 

of  Wrangell  Land.    It  was  evident,  by  its 

173 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

length  and  by  the  way  it  was  split  and  cut, 
that  it  was  intended  for  firewood.  It  seemed 
clearly  to  be  the  work  of  white  men,  possibly 
of  some  of  the  Jeannette's  crew.  But  the  grand 
excitement  of  the  day,  apart  from  the  untrod 
den  shore  we  were  seeking,  was  caused  by  three 
polar  bears,  magnificent  fellows,  fat  and  hearty, 
rejoicing  in  their  strength  out  here  in  the  bosom 
of  the  icy  wilderness. 

When  discovered  they  were  regarding  us 
attentively  from  a  large  cake  of  ice,  each  on 
a  hummock  commanding  a  good  view  of  the 
ship,  an  object  they  no  doubt  saw  for  the  first 
time  in  their  lives.  One  of  them  was  perched 
on  top  of  a  pile  of  blocks,  the  topmost  of  which 
was  a  pedestal  square  and  level  as  if  built  up 
for  an  outlook.  He  sat  erect  and,  as  he  was 
nearly  the  color  of  the  ice,  was  not  noticed 
until,  we  were  quite  near.  They  watched,  mo 
tionless,  for  some  time,  throwing  forward  then* 
long  necks  and  black-tipped  noses  as  if  trying 
to  catch  and  pass  judgment  on  the  scent  of  the 
big,  smoking,  black  monster  that  was  approach 
ing  them. 

When  we  were  within  about  fifty  yards  of 
them,  they  started,  walked  a  step  or  two,  and 
turned  to  gaze  again  as  the  strange  object 
came  nearer.  Then  they  showed  fear  and  be 
gan  to  lumber  along  over  and  across  the  wave- 
174 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

like  rough  hills  and  dales  of  the  ice,  afraid,  per 
haps,  for  the 'first  time  in  their  lives.  For  polar 
bears  are  the  master  existences  of  these  frozen 
regions,  the  walruses  being  no  match  for  them. 
First  they  broke  into  a  lumbering  trot;  then, 
into  a  panicky,  walloppy  gallop,  with  fewer 
and  fewer  halts  to  look  back,  until  they  reached 
the  far  side  of  the  ice-field  and  plunged  into  the 
water  with  a  splash  that  sent  the  spray  ten 
feet  into  the  air.  Then  they  swam,  making  all 
haste  toward  a  larger  floe.  If  they  could  have 
gained  it  they  would  have  made  good  their  re 
treat.  But  the  steamer  gave  chase  at  the  rate 
of  seven  knots  an  hour,  headed  them  off,  and 
all  were  shot  without  the  least  chance  of  escape, 
and  without  their  being  able  to  offer  the  slight 
est  resistance. 

The  first  one  overtaken  was  killed  instantly 
at  the  second  shot,  which  passed  through 
the  brain.  The  other  two  were  fired  at  by 
five  fun-,  fur-,  and  fame-seekers,  with  heavy 
breech-loading  rifles,  about  forty  tunes  ere 
they  were  killed.  From  four  to  six  bullets 
passed  through  their  necks  and  shoulders  be 
fore  the  last  through  the  brain  put  an  end  to 
their  agony.  The  brain  is  small  and  not  easily 
penetrated,  except  from  the  side  of  the  head, 
while  their  bodies  may  be  shot  through  and 
through  a  score  of  times,  apparently,  without 

175 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

disabling  them  for  fighting  or  swimming.  When 
a  bullet  went  through  the  neck,  they  would 
simply  shake  their  heads  without  making  any 
sort  of  outcry,  the  effect  being  simply  to  hasten 
their  flight.  The  same  was  true  of  most  other 
wounds.  But  occasionally,  when  struck  in  the 
spine,  or  shoulder,  the  pain  would  make  them 
roar,  and  groan,  and  turn  to  examine  the  spot, 
or  to  snap  at  the  wound  as  if  seeking  an  enemy. 
They  would  dive  occasionally,  and  swim  under 
water  a  few  yards.  But,  being  out  of  breath, 
they  were  always  compelled  to  come  up  in  a 
minute  or  so.  They  had  no  chance  whatever 
for  their  lives,  and  the  whole  affair  was  as  safe 
and  easy  a  butchery  as  shooting  cows  in  a  barn 
yard  from  the  roof  of  the  barn.  It  was  pro 
longed,  bloody  agony,  as  clumsily  and  heart 
lessly  inflicted  as  it  could  well  be,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  first,  which  never  knew  what  hurt 
him. 

The  Eskimos  hunt  and  kill  them  for  food, 
going  out  to  meet  them  on  the  ice  with  spears 
and  dogs.  This  is  merely  one  savage  living  on 
another.  But  how  civilized  people,  seeking  for 
heavens  and  angels  and  millenniums,  and  the 
reign  of  universal  peace  and  love,  can  enjoy 
this  red,  brutal  amusement,  is  not  so  easily 
accounted  for.  Such  soft,  fuzzy,  sentimental 
aspirations,  and  the  frame  of  mind  that  can 

176 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

reap  giggling,  jolly  pleasure  from  the  blood 
and  agony  and  death  of  these  fine  annuals, 
with  their  humanlike  groans,  are  too  devilish 
for  anything  but  hell.  Of  all  the  animals  man 
is  at  once  the  worst  and  the  best. 

Two  of  the  bears  were  hoisted  on  board,  the 
other  was  neglected  until  it  could  not  be  found. 
Then  came  the  vulgar  business  of  skinning  and 
throwing  the  mangled  carcasses  back  into  the 
clean  blue  water  among  the  ice.  The  skins 
were  stretched  on  frames  to  be  dried  and  taken 
home  to  show  angelic  sweethearts  the  evidence 
of  pluck  and  daring. 

The  Indians  sometimes  adorn  their  belts 
with  the  claws  of  bears  and  place  their  skulls 
about  the  graves  of  the  men  who  killed  them. 
I  have  seen  as  many  as  eighteen  set  about  the 
skeleton  of  an  Eskimo  hunter,  making  for  his 
bones  an  oval  enclosure  like  a  frame  of  shells 
set  around  a  grave.  The  strength  of  the  polar 
bear  is  in  proportion  to  the  massiveness  of  his 
limbs.  The  view  of  their  limb  muscles,  swell 
ing  in  braided  bosses,  could  not  fail  to  awaken 
admiration  as  they  lay  exposed  on  the  deck. 
Such  is  the  strength  of  the  large  bears,  which 
are  nine  to  ten  feet  long,  that  they  can  stand 
on  the  edge  of  an  ice-floe  and  drag  up  out 
of  the  water  a  walrus  weighing  more  than  a 
thousand  pounds. 

177 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

The  feet  of  the  larger  one  measured  nine  and 
a  half  inches  across  behind  the  toes.  They 
have  long  hair  on  the  soles  and  around  the 
sides  of  the  feet  for  warmth  in  the  dreary  soli 
tudes  which  they  inhabit.  When  standing,  the 
claws  are  not  visible;  the  whole  foot  seems  to 
be  a  large  mop  of  hair  spreading  all  around. 
The  expression  of  the  eye  is  rather  mild  and  dog- 
like  in  the  shape  of  the  muzzle  and  the  droop 
of  the  lips,  and  only  the -teeth  would  suggest 
his  character  as  a  killer. 

The  third  of  August  was  spent  in  groping 
anxiously  landward  again  through  fog  and  ice 
until  about  six  in  the  evening,  when  we  reached 
the  heavy,  unbroken  edge  of  the  coast  ice,  at 
a  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
nearest  point  of  land,  and  all  hope  of  advanc 
ing  farther  was  now  at  an  end.  We,  therefore, 
turned  away,  determined  to  bide  our  tune, 
hoping  that  warm  winds  and  waves  would  at 
length  melt  and  smash  the  heavy  fields  along 
shore  some  time  before  the  setting-in  of  winter. 
Nor  were  we  altogether  without  hope  of  find 
ing  open  water  leading  around  the  west  shore 
of  Wrangell  Land.  We  soon  found,  however, 
that  the  pack  stretched  continuously  across 
to  Cape  North  on  the  Siberian  coast,  thus 
promptly  forbidding  all  efforts  in  that  direc 
tion. 

178 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

The  bottom  of  the  ocean  in  that  region  is 
very  level.  Soundings  made  every  hour  for 
three  days  l  varied  scarcely  more  than  five 
fathoms,  and  for  half  a  day  not  one  fathom. 
We  saw  several  small  fishes  among  the  ice  at 
our  nearest  point  to  lee;  also  seals,  both  sad 
dleback  and  hair.  Just  as  we  were  turning  we 
discovered  a  bear  observing  us  from  a  large 
field  of  ice.  He  kept  coming  nearer  a  few  steps 
and  then  halting  to  catch  the  smell  of  the  ship. 
We  did  not  attempt  to  kill  him,  however,  as  the 
advantage  we  had  was  not  great  enough.  We 
could  not  chase  him  here  with  the  steamer. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  we  discovered 
a  ship's  foreyard  with  bits  of  rope  still  attached 
to  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  it  had  been 
carried  away  while  the  sail  was  bent.  It  seemed 
to  have  been  ground  in  the  ice  for  a  winter  or 
two,  and  probably  belonged  to  one  of  the  miss 
ing  whalers. 

After  cruising  along  the  Siberian  coast  for  a 

few  days,  and  calling  at  the  Cape  Wankarem 

village  to  procure  as  many  as  possible  of  the 

articles  taken  by  the  natives  from  the  wreck 

of  one  of  the  lost  whalers,  we  found  ourselves 

once  more  on  the  edge  of  Wrangell  ice,  and 

again  in  dense  fog  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth 

of  August.  A  huge  white  bear  came  swimming 

1  In  an  average  depth  of  twenty-one  fathoms. 

179 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

through  the  drizzle  and  gloom  and  black  heav 
ing  waves  toward  the  ship  as  we  lay  at  anchor, 
guided  doubtless  by  scent.  He  was  greeted  by 
a  volley  of  rifle  balls,  no  one  of  which  injured 
him,  however,  and  fortunately  he  could  not  be 
pursued. 

The  fog  lasted  in  dismal  thickness  until  one 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh,  when 
we  once  more  saw  the  hills  and  dales  of  Wran- 
gell  Land  hopefully  near.  We  discovered  a  lead 
that  enabled  us  to  approach  within  perhaps 
fifteen  miles  of  the  nearest  portion  of  the 
coast.  At  times  we  thought  ourselves  much 
nearer,  when  the  light,  falling  favorably,  would 
bring  out  many  of  the  smaller  features,  such 
as  the  subordinate  ridges  on  the  faces  of  the 
mountains  and  hills,  the  small  dimpling  hol 
lows  with  their  different  shades  of  color,  fur 
rows  that  seemed  the  channels  of  small 
streams,  and  the  peculiar  rounded  outlines  due 
to  glacial  action.  Then  pushing  eagerly  through 
the  huge  drifting  masses  toward  the  nearest 
cape,  judging  by  the  distinctness  of  its  fea 
tures,  it  would  suddenly  seem  to  retreat  again 
into  the  blue  distance,  and  some  other  point 
catching  the  sunlight  would  be  seen  rising 
grandly  across  the  jagged,  hummocky  ice- 
plain,  relieved  against  the  blue  shadowy  por 
tions  to  right  and  left  as  a  background. 

180 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

It  was  not  long,  however,  after  tracing  one 
lead  after  another,  and  coming  always  to  a 
standstill  with  the  ship's  prow  against  ice  of 
enormous  thickness,  before  we  were  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  all  efforts  made  hereabouts 
would  now  be  vain.  The  ice  did  not  seem  to 
have  been  broken  or  moved  in  any  way  for 
years.  We  turned,  therefore,  and  made  our 
way  back  to  open  water  with  difficulty  and 
steamed  along  the  edge  of  the  pack  to  the  north 
eastward.  After  a  few  hours'  run  we  found  the  ice 
more  promising,  for  it  showed  traces  of  having 
been  well  crushed  and  pounded,  enabling  us 
to  bear  gradually  in  toward  the  land  through  a 
wedge-shaped  lead  about  twenty  miles  in  length. 

At  half -past  five  in  the  afternoon  we  were 
again  brought  to  a  standstill  against  heavy  ice, 
but  this  time  within  about  five  miles  of  the 
shore.  We  now  felt  pretty  sure  that  we  would 
be  able  to  make  a  landing,  and  the  questions 
that  we  wanted  to  put  to  this  land  of  mystery 
came  thronging  to  mind.  This  being,  perhaps, 
the  most  likely  place  to  find  traces  of  the  Jean- 
nette  expedition,  in  case  any  portion  of  this 
island  was  reached,  would  we  find  such  traces? 
Has  the  country  any  human  inhabitants? 
Would  we  find  reindeer  or  musk  oxen?  What 
birds  shall  we  find?  What  plants,  rocks, 
streams,  etc.? 

181 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

We  intended  to  walk  the  five  miles  of  ice, 
dragging  a  light  skin-covered  boat  with  us  to 
cross  any  open  spot  that  we  might  come  to ;  but 
ere  we  could  set  off,  the  fog  began  to  settle 
gloomily  down  over  the  land  and  we  deter 
mined  to  wait  until  the  next  morning,  and  in 
the  meantime  steam  back  out  of  the  narrow, 
ice-jammed  throat  of  the  lead  a  few  miles  to 
a  safer  position,  in  case  the  ice  should  close 
upon  us.  Just  as  we  turned  from  our  nearest 
point  of  approach,  we  fired  a  cannon  to  stir 
the  echoes  among  the  hills  and  give  notice  of 
our  presence  in  case  anybody  was  near  to 
listen. 

The  next  morning,  steaming  ahead  once 
more  to  the  end  of  our  water-lane,  we  were 
rejoiced  to  find  that  though  there  were  now 
about  eight  or  ten  miles  of  ice  separating  us 
from  the  shore,  it  was  less  firmly  packed,  and 
our  little  vessel  made  a  way  through  it  with 
out  difficulty,  until  we  were  within  two  miles 
of  the  shore,  when  we  found  the  craggy  blocks 
extremely  hard  and  wedged  closely.  But  a 
patch  of  open  water  near  the  beach,  now 
plainly  in  sight,  tempted  us  to  continue  the 
struggle,  and  with  the  throttle  wide  open  the 
barrier  was  forced.  By  ten  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  the  Corwin  was  riding  at  anchor  less  than 
a  cable's  length  from  a  dry,  gravel  bar,  stretch- 

182 


APPROACHING  A  MYSTERIOUS  LAND 

ing  in  front  of  the  mouth  of  a  river.  The  long 
battle  we  had  fought  with  the  ice  was  now 
fairly  won,  and  neither  the  engine  nor  the  hull 
of  the  ship  seemed  to  have  suffered  any  appre 
ciable  damage  from  the  terrible  shocks  and 
strains  they  had  undergone. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   LAND    OF   THE  WHITE   BEAR 

[Steamer  Corwin, 
Wrangell  Land,  August  12,  1881.] 

A  NOTABLE  addition  was  made  to  the  na 
tional  domain  when  Captain  Calvin  L.  Hooper 
landed  on  Wrangell  Land,1  and  took  formal 
possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States.  We  landed  near  the  southeast  cape, 
at  the  mouth  of  a  river,  in  latitude  71°  4X,  longi 
tude  177°  40'  30"  W.  The  extent  of  the  new 
territory  thus  acquired  is  not  definitely  known, 
nor  is  it  likely  to  be  for  many  a  century,  or  until 
some  considerable  change  has  taken  place  in 
the  polar  climate,  rendering  the  new  land  more 
attractive  and  more  accessible.  For  at  present 
even  its  southmost  portion  is  almost  constantly 
beset  with  ice  of  a  kind  that  renders  it  all  but 
inaccessible  during  both  the  winter  and  sum 
mer,  while  to  the  northward  it  extends  far  into 
the  frozen  ocean. 

Going  inland,  along  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
we  found  it  much  larger  than  it  at  first  ap 
peared  to  be.  There  was  no  snow  left  on  the 
lowlands  or  any  of  the  hills  or  mountains  in 

1  The  landing  was  made  August  12,  1881. 
184 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

sight,  excepting  the  remnants  of  heavy  drifts; 
nevertheless,  it  was  still  about  seventy-five 
yards  wide,  twelve  feet  deep,  and  was  flowing 
on  with  a  clear,  stately  current,  at  a  speed  of 
about  three  miles  an  hour.  While  the  snow  is 
melting  it  must  be  at  least  two  hundred  yards 
wide  and  twenty  feet  deep,  and  its  sources  must 
lie  well  back  in  the  interior  of  the  island. 

Not  the  slightest  trace,  however,  could  we 
find  along  the  river,  along  the  shore,  or  on  the 
bluff  to  the  northeastward,  of  the  Jeannette 
party,  or  of  any  human  inhabitant.  A  land 
more  severely  solitary  could  hardly  be  found 
anywhere  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

The  beach  was  well  tracked  by  polar  bears, 
but  none  of  the  party  could  discover  any  sign 
of  reindeer  or  musk  oxen,  though  the  country 
seems  to  abound  in  the  kind  of  food  they  re 
quire.  A  single  fox  track  was  observed,  and 
some  burrows  of  a  species  of  spermophile;1 
also  a  number  of  birds,2  and  about  twenty 

1  E.  W.  Nelson,  in  Mammals  of  Northern  Alaska  (1886), 
identified  this  spermophile  as  Spermophilus  empeira  empetra 
(Pallas),  and  remarks,  "upon  the  hill  where  we  planted  our 
flag  on  Wrangell  Island  were  many  of  their  burrows." 

2  The  following  birds  were  observed  by  Mr.  Nelson  on 
Wrangell  Land  and  Herald  Island:  Snow  Bunting,  Snowy 
Owl,  Pacific  Golden  Plover,  Pectoral  Sandpiper,  Red  Phala- 
rope,  some  kind  of  wild  goose  (perhaps  Black  Brant),  King 
Eider    Duck,  Red-faced    Cormorant,  Ivory    Gull,    Pacific 
Kittiwake,  Glaucous  Gull,  Glaucous-winged  Gull,  Ross's 
Gull,  Sabine's  Gull,  Pomarine  Jaeger,  Long-tailed  Jaeger, 

185 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

species  of  plants, *  most  of  them  in  bloom.  The 
rock  is  clay  slate,  which  weathers  smoothly, 
and  is  covered  with  a  sparse  growth  of  mosses, 
lichens,  and  flowering  plants,  not  unlike  that 
of  the  adjacent  coasts  of  Siberia  and  Alaska. 

Some  small  fragments  of  knowledge  concern 
ing  this  mysterious  country  have  been  in  exist 
ence  for  nearly  a  century,  mostly,  however,  of 
so  vague  and  foggy  a  character  as  to  be  scarce 
at  all  available  as  geography,  while  up  to  the 
time  of  Captain  Hooper's  visit  no  explorer  so 
far  as  known  had  set  foot  on  it.  In  the  year 
1820  Lieutenant  Wrangell  was  ordered  by  Alex 
ander,  Emperor  of  Russia,  to  proceed  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Kolyma  as  far  as  Cape  Schelag- 
skoj,  and  from  thence  in  a  northerly  direction 
over  the  ice  with  sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  to  as 
certain  whether  an  inhabited  country  existed  in 
that  quarter,  as  asserted  by  the  Chukchis  and 
others. 

•  But  the  land  in  question  was  far  from  being 
generally  known  even  by  tradition  among  the 
Chukchis  inhabiting  the  Siberian  coast  nearest 
to  it.  Wrangell  seems  to  have  found  only  one 

Rodgers's  Fulmar,  Horned  Puffin,  Crested  Auk,  Black  Guil 
lemot,  Pigeon  Guillemot,  Thick-billed  Guillemot,  and  a  dead 
specimen  of  the  Crested  Shrike.  This  list  is  made  from 
E.  W.  Nelson's  Birds  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
published  with  Muir's  botanical  observations  in  Treasury 
Department  Document  No.  429  (1883). 
1  See  "Botanical  Notes,"  p.  295. 

186 


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I 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

person  during  his  long  search  for  this  land  that 
had  heard  or  could  tell  him  anything  concern 
ing  it.  This  man,  an  intelligent  chief  or  head  of 
a  family,  drew  with  charcoal  a  correct  sketch 
of  Cape  Schelagskoj,  Aratuan  Island,  and  an 
other  to  the  east  of  the  Cape,  and  then  as 
sured  Wrangell  in  the  most  positive  manner 
that  there  was  no  other  island  along  the  coast. 
When  asked  whether  there  was  any  other  land 
to  the  north  beyond  the  visible  horizon,  he 
seemed  to  reflect  a  little,  and  then  said  that 
between  Cape  Schelagskoj  and  Cape  North, 
there  was  a  part  of  the  coast  where,  from  some 
cliffs  near  the  mouth  of  a  river,  one  might  on  a 
clear  summer  day  descry  snow-covered  moun 
tains  at  a  great  distance  to  the  north,  but 
that  in  winter  it  was  impossible  to  see  so  far. 
He  said  also  that  formerly  herds  of  reindeer 
sometimes  came  across  the  ice,  probably  from 
thence,  but  that  they  had  been  frightened  back 
by  hunters  and  wolves.  He  claimed  to  have 
himself  once  seen  a  herd  returning  to  the  north 
in  this  way  in  April,  and  followed  them  in  a 
sledge  drawn  by  two  deer  for  a  whole  day  until 
the  roughness  of  the  ice  forced  him  to  turn  back. 
His  opinion  was  that  these  distant  mountains 
he  had  seen  were  not  on  an  island,  but  on  an 
extensive  land  similar  to  his  own  country. 
He  had  been  told  by  his  father  that  a  Chuk- 
187 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

chi  elder  had  once  gone  there  with  a  few  fol 
lowers  in  large  boats,  but  what  they  found 
there,  or  whether  they  ever  returned,  he  did 
not  know.  Still  he  maintained  that  the  distant 
land  was  inhabited,  and  adduced  as  proof  of  it 
that  some  years  ago  a  dead  whale  was  found 
at  Aratuan  Island  pierced  by  spears  pointed 
with  slate;  and  as  his  people  did  not  use  such 
weapons  he  supposed  that  the  whale  must  have 
been  killed  by  the  people  of  the  northland. 

After  spending  three  winters  Baron  Wrangell 
wrote  concerning  this  country:  "Our  return  to 
Nishne  Kolymsk  closed  the  series  of  attempts 
made  by  us  to  discover  a  northern  land,  which 
though  not  seen  by  us,  may  nevertheless  exist, 
and  be  attainable  under  a  combination  of  very 
favorable  circumstances,  the  principal  of  which 
would  be  a  long,  cold,  and  stormless  winter, 
and  a  late  spring.  If  another  attempt  should 
be  made,  it  would  be  advisable  to  leave  the 
coast  about  Cape  Yakdn,  which  all  the  native 
accounts  concur  in  representing  as  the  nearest 
point  to  the  supposed  northern  region." 

Steamer  Corwin, 

Off  Point  Barrow,  Alaska, 

August  17,  1881. 

The  Corwin  made  a  very  short  stay  at  Wran 
gell  Land,  partly  because  of  the  condition  of 

188 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

the  ice,  which  threatened  to  shut  us  in;  and 
partly  because  it  seemed  improbable  that  a 
prolonged  search  in  the  region  about  our  land 
ing-point  could  in  any  way  advance  the  main 
objects  of  the  expedition.  A  considerable  stretch 
of  the  bluff  coast  where  we  landed  was  scanned 
closely  as  we  approached.  Captain  Hooper, 
Mr.  Nelson,  and  myself  examined  a  mile  or 
two  of  the  left  bank-  of  the  river,  a  gently 
sloping  hillside  back  from  the  river,  and  a 
stretch  of  smooth  beach  at  its  mouth.  Mean 
while  a  party  of  officers,  after  erecting  a. cairn, 
depositing  records  in  it,  and  setting  the  flag  on 
the  edge  of  the  bluff  fronting  the  ocean,  went 
northeastward  along  the  brow  of  the  shore- 
bluff  to  a  prominent  headland,  a  distance  of 
three  or  four  miles,  searching  carefully  for 
traces  of  the  Jeannette  explorers,  and  of  any 
native  inhabitants  that  might  chance  to  be 
in  the  country;  then  all  were  hurriedly  re 
called,  and  we  forced  our  way  back  through 
ten  miles  of  heavy  drifting  ice  to  open  water. 
On  the  shore  we  found  the  skeleton  of  a 
large  bowhead  whale,  an  oak  barrel  stave,  a 
piece  of  a  boat  mast  about  seven  feet  long  and 
four  inches  in  diameter,  a  double  kayak  paddle 
with  both  blades  broken,  and  a  small  quantity 
of  driftwood.  Every  bit  of  flotsam  was  much 
scoured  and  abraded,  showing  that  the  articles 

189 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

had  long  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  waves 
and  ice. 

Back  on  the  hills  and  along  the  river-bank  the 
tracks  of  geese,  marmots,  foxes,  and  bears  were 
seen,  but  no  trace  whatever  of  human  beings, 
though  the  mouth  of  a  river  would  above  all 
others  be  the  place  to  find  them  if  the  country 
were  inhabited  or  had  been  visited  by  Euro 
peans  within  a  decade  or  two.  Not  a  stick*  of 
the  driftwood  seemed  to  have  been  turned  over 
or  stirred  in  any  way,  though,  from  the  steep 
ness  of  the  slate  bluffs  for  miles  along  the  coast, 
and  the  heavy  snowbanks  drifted  over  them, 
this  low,  open  portion  of  the  shore  is  about  the 
only  place  in  the  neighborhood  where  drift 
wood  could  come  to  rest  on  a  beach  and  be 
easily  accessible  to  natives  or  others  while 
traveling  along  the  coast  either  on  the  ice  or  on 
land,  and  where  they  would  also  find  a  good 
camp-ground  and  water. 

A  few  yards  back  from  high- water  mark  there 
is  a  low  pile  of  broken  slate,  with  level  ground 
about  it,  where  any  traveler  passing  this  way 
would  naturally  choose  to  camp.  But  the  sur 
face  of  the  slate  is  covered  with  gray,  brown, 
and  yellow  rock-lichens  of  slow  growth,  show 
ing  that  not  one  of  these  stones  had  been  moved 
for  many  a  year.  Again,  neither  the  low  nor  the 
high  ground  in  this  vicinity  is  at  all  mantled 

190 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

with  spongy  tundra  mosses  and  lichens  like 
most  of  the  Arctic  shores  over  which  a  man 
might  walk  without  leaving  a  footprint.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  mostly  bare,  presenting  a  soft 
clay  soil,  derived  from  the  disintegration  of 
slates,  the  scanty  dwarf  vegetation  —  saxi 
frages,  drabas,  potentillas,  carices,  etc.  —  oc 
curring  in  small  tufts  at  intervals  of  a  yard  or 
so,  with  bare  ground  between  them,  smooth  and 
mellow  and  plastic,  with  gentle  drainage,  ad 
mirably  adapted  for  the  reception  and  preserva 
tion  of  footprints.  Had  any  person  walked  on 
this  ground  any  time  in  summer  when  the  snow 
was  gone,  and  where  the  drainage  slopes  are 
not  too  steep,  his  track  would  remain  legible  to 
the  dullest  observer  for  years. 

We  concluded,  therefore,  that  this  part  of 
the  country  is  not  inhabited.  Nor  should  the 
absence  of  inhabitants  be  wondered  at  not 
withstanding  they  might  be  derived  from  the 
Siberian  coast  at  long  intervals  in  accordance 
with  the  traditions  bearing  on  the  question 
among  the  Chukchis,  or  even  from  the  coast  of 
Alaska  about  Point  Barrow  or  Cape  Lisburne. 
For,  though  small  parties  of  Eskimos  or  Chuk 
chis  might  reach  the  land  on  floes  detached 
from  the  pack  while  they  chanced  to  be  out 
hunting  seals,  or  in  boats  driven  by  storm-winds 
or  otherwise,  such  parties  would  probably  seek 

191 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

to  get  back  to  their  old  homes  again,  or  would 
die  of  famine.  The  seal  and  walrus,  the  two  ani 
mals  on  which  the  natives  of  the  Arctic  shores 
chiefly  depend  for  subsistence,  are  not  to  any 
great  extent  available,  inasmuch  as  the  ice 
seldom  or  never  leaves  the  south  Wrangell 
shores,  and  journeys  twenty  or  thirty  miles 
long  would  have  to  be  made  over  rough  ice 
to  reach  them. 

Reindeer  and  musk  oxen  may  exist  in  some 
other  portions  of  the  country,  but  if  they  occur 
in  such  numbers  as  would  be  required  for  the 
support  of  any  considerable  population  the 
tracks  of  at  least  some  few  stragglers  should 
have  been  seen  hereabouts.  Migratory  water 
birds  are  no  doubt  abundant  during  the  breed 
ing  and  moulting  season,  producing  sufficient 
food  to  last  through  a  few  of  the  summer 
months,  and  there  are  plenty  of  white  bears, 
huge  animals  weighing  from  ten  to  twenty  hun 
dred  pounds.  Most  of  them,  however,  roam 
far  out  from  land  on  the  rugged  edge  of  the  ice 
pack  among  the  seals  and  walruses,  and  even 
under  the  most  advantageous  circumstances 
polar  bears  are  poor  cattle  to  depend  on  for  a 
living.  They  certainly  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  fed  upon  lately  to  any  marked  extent,  for 
we  found  them  everywhere  in  abundance  along 
the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  they  appeared  to  be  very 

192 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

fat  and  prosperous,  and  very  much  at  home, 
as  if  the  country  had  belonged  to  them  always. 
They  are  the  unrivaled  master-existences  of 
this  ice-bound  solitude,  and  Wrangell  Land 
may  well  be  called  the  Land  of  the  White 
Bear. 

Commander  De  Long,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife, 
written  at  sea,  August  17,  1879,  said  that  he 
proposed  to  proceed  north  by  the  way  of  the 
east  coast  of  Wrangell  Land,  touching  at  Her 
ald  Island,  where  he  would  build  a  cairn  and 
leave  records;  that  if  he  reached  Wrangell 
Land  from  there  he  would  leave  records  on  the 
east  coast  under  a  series  of  cairns  twenty-five 
miles  apart.  In  a  previous  letter,  dated  July  17, 
1879,  he  said:  — 

In  the  event  of  disaster  to  the  ship,  we  shall  re 
treat  upon  the  Siberian  settlements,  or  to  those  of 
the  natives  around  East  Cape,  and  wait  for  a  chance 
to  get  back  to  our  depot  at  St.  Michael.  If  a  ship 
comes  up  merely  for  tidings  of  us,  let  her  look  for 
them  on  the  east  side  of  Wrangell  Land  and  on 
Herald  Island.  If  I  find  that  we  are  being  carried 
east  against  our  efforts  to  get  north,  I  shall  try  to 
push  through  into  the  Atlantic  by  way  of  the  east 
coast  of  Greenland,  if  we  are  far  enough  north;  and 
if  we  are  far  south,  then  by  way  of  Melville  Bay  and 
Lancaster  Sound. 

While  evidently  pursuing  this  plan,  he  was 
seen  by  the  whaler  Sea  Breeze  on  the  second 

193 


of  September,  1879,  about  fifty  miles  south  of 
Herald  Island,  entering  a  lead  in  heavy  ice, 
which  probably  closed  in  upon  his  vessel  and 
carried  him  past  Herald  Island.  The  search  we 
made  over  Herald  Island  shows  pretty  clearly 
that  he  did  not  succeed  in  landing  there,  for  if 
a  cairn  had  been  built  on  any  conspicuous 
point  we  could  not  have  failed  to  see  it,  as  we 
traveled  over  it  all  in  good  bright  weather. 
Nor  would  the  failure  of  this  part  of  his  plan 
be  unlikely  when  it  is  considered  that  he  was 
fifty  miles  from  the  island  so  late  in  the  season 
as  September,  and  when  heavy  ice  a  hundred 
feet  thick  was  already  about  him,  and  packed 
around  the  island.  Neither  does  it  seem  at  all 
probable  from  what  we  have  seen  this  summer 
that  he  could  have  been  successful  in  reach 
ing  Wrangell  Land  so  late  in  the  season  under 
so  many  adverse  circumstances  of  weather 
and  ice. 

That  he  did  not  build  a  cairn  or  leave  any 
trace  of  his  presence  within  a  few  miles  of  our 
landing  point  does  not  prove  by  any  means  that 
he  did  not  reach  Wrangell  Land  at  all,  or  that 
cairns  with  records  may  not  exist  elsewhere 
to  the  northward  or  westward.  But  the  point 
where  we  landed  being  the  easternmost  point 
of  the  lower  portion  of  Wrangell  Land,  it  would 
seem  from  his  plans  as  well  as  from  known 

194 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

conditions  of  the  ice  to  be  of  all  others  the  like 
liest  place  to  find  traces  of  the  expedition. 

In  the  case  of  the  loss  of  his  vessel  and  his 
reaching  land  farther  up  the  coast,  he  would  be 
likely,  in  following  his  plan  of  retreat,  to  travel 
southward  past  this  east  point  where  the  ice 
is  more  broken  and  extends  a  shorter  distance 
offshore  than  elsewhere  —  conditions  that  seem 
applicable  to  the  last  two  years  at  least,  judging 
by  what  we  have  observed.  Even  should  he  not 
have  built  a  cairn  on  so  prominent  and  com 
paratively  accessible  a  point,  likely  to  be  dis 
covered  by  relief  vessels,  he  could  hardly  have 
been  able  to  pass  without  leaving  some  sign  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  whether  he  made  efforts 
to  mark  his  presence  or  not.  In  case  the  explor 
ers  passed  their  first  winter  on  Wrangell  Land, 
they  might  either  try  to  cross  over  the  ice  to 
Siberia  toward  spring  from  some  point  to  the 
westward  of  our  landing,  or  in  case  they  reached 
the  easternmost  cape,  near  the  south  extreme 
of  the  land,  about  midsummer,  they  would 
probably  find  it  the  most  favorable  point  of 
departure  in  making  their  way  to  the  Siberian 
coast  with  sleds  over  the  shore  pack,  and  thence 
in  boats.  But  as  no  trace  of  the  explorers  ap 
pears  here,  and  no  tidings  have  been  obtained 
concerning  them  from  the  Chukchis,  this,  with 
all  the  evidence  discovered  thus  far,  goes  to 
195 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

show  that  the  Jeannette  expedition  either  did 
not  reach  Wrangell  Land  at  all,  or  did  not  make 
any  extended  stay  upon  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  improbability  of  find 
ing  the  expedition,  the  Corwin  would  gladly 
have  been  fast  to  a  stranded  berg,  for  a  few 
days  at  least,  during  the  fine  August  weather 
we  were  enjoying  at  the  time,  in  order  to  send 
out  exploring  and  search  parties  along  the  coast 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  opposite  directions,  and 
back  into  the  mountains,  to  learn  something 
about  the  topography,  geology,  and  natural 
history  of  the  country,  and  to  determine  as 
surely  as  possible  whether  the  missing  explorers 
had  touched  this  portion  of  the  coast.  But  in  so 
doing  we  should  have  risked  being  shut  in,  los 
ing  the  vessel,  and  thus  making  still  another 
party  to  be  searched  for.  Besides,  we  might 
then  be  prevented  from  making  other  landings 
farther  north  in  case  the  ice  should  leave  the 
shores  in  that  direction,  and  from  extending 
relief  to  other  vessels  that  might  stand  in  need 
of  it  among  the  ice  of  this  dangerous  sea. 

The  floe  outside  of  our  anchorage  was  drift 
ing  along  shore  to  the  northeast  with  a  power 
ful  current  at  a  speed  of  fifty  miles  a  day,  the 
majestic  movement  being  made  strikingly 
manifest  by  large  bergs  that  were  aground  in 
water  sixty  feet  deep,  standing  like  islands, 

196 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

while  the  main  mass  of  the  pack  went  grating 
past  them.  With  so  much  motion  in  the  ice, 
the  open  lane  and  the  strip  of  loose  blocks  and 
cakes  through  which  we  had  forced  our  way 
in  coming  in  was  liable  to  close  at  any  time, 
making  escape  impossible,  at  least  until  some 
chance  change  in  the  winds  and  currents  might 
result  in  setting  us  free. 

As  it  was,  we  escaped  with  difficulty  after 
both  engine  and  hull  had  been  severely  tested, 
the  lane  by  which  we  entered  having  almost 
vanished,  and  the  point  where  we  reached 
open  water  was  several  miles  to  the  northward 
of  our  ingoing  track.  Had  our  retreat  been 
cut  off,  we  would  not,  perhaps,  have  suffered 
greatly  for  a  year  or  thereabouts,  inasmuch  as 
we  had  nine  months'  provisions  aboard,  which, 
with  what  game  we  might  chance  to  kill  in  the 
nature  of  seals,  bears,  and  walruses,  could  eas 
ily  have  been  made  to  last  considerably  longer. 
We  also  had  plenty  of  reindeer  clothing  and 
pologs,  bought  with  a  view  to  spending  a  win 
ter  in  the  Arctic,  in  case  it  should  be  necessary' 
to  do  so.  Everything  could  have  been  landed 
under  favorable  auspices,  and  preparations 
could  have  been  made  in  the  way  of  building 
shelters  and  storehouses.  Then  we  would  have 
had  a  fine  long  opportunity  to  explore  this 
grand  wilderness  in  its  untouched  freshness 
197 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

during  the  remaining  months  of  summer  and  all 
the  winter,  while  the  vessel  might  possibly  have 
escaped  being  smashed  if  laid  up  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  by  a  hairbreadth  chance  have 
been  gotten  out  next  summer. 

Perhaps  the  ice  does  not  leave  the  shore  free 
more  than  once  in  ten  years.  The  small  quan 
tity  of  driftwood  on  the  beach  would  seem  to 
indicate  open  water  at  times,  but  it  might  have 
been  brought  in  by  shifting,  tumbling  ice,  after 
being  held  fast  and  gradually  worked  inshore 
after  years  of  change  in  its  position  among  the 
shifting  floes,  without  the  occurrence  of  any 
perfectly  free  channel  of  communication  with 
the  open  part  of  the  ocean.  Our  plan  of  retreat 
would  have  been  similar  to  that  proposed  by 
Commander  De  Long,  that  is,  to  the  coast  of 
Siberia.  The  loss  of  the  vessel,  however,  and 
any  work  and  hardship  that  might  follow  would 
not  have  been  allowed  to  weigh  against  any 
reasonable  hope  of  finding  the  lost  explorers 
and  carrying  relief  to  them.  But  it  was  decided 
that  more  could  be  done,  in  all  probability, 
towards  carrying  out  the  objects  of  the  expedi 
tion  by  keeping  the  Corwin  free.  Only  about 
half  of  the  workdays  of  the  summer  were  spent 
as  yet,  the  weather  was  mild,  the  ice  melting, 
and  we  had  good  hopes  of  finding  open  water 
reaching  well  inshore  farther  north,  through 

198 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR 

which  some  other  portion  of  the  coast  might 
be  found  accessible  where  the  danger  of  being 
permanently  beset  would  be  less,  and  from 
whence  extended  land  journeys  might  be  made. 
Our  efforts,  however,  to  get  northward  along 
the  eastern  shore  of  Wrangell  Land  have,  thus 
far,  been  unavailing. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

TRAGEDIES   OF  THE   WHALING   FLEET 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Off  Point  Barrow,  August  18,  1881. 

FINDING  it  impossible  to  get  northward 
through  the  ice  anywhere  near  the  east  side 
of  Wrangell  Land,  it  was  decided  that  we 
should  cross  to  the  American  coast  to  make 
another  effort  to  reach  Point  Barrow  in  order 
to  learn  the  fate  of  the  whale-ship  Daniel  Web 
ster,  which,  as  I  have  stated  in  a  former  letter, 
was  beset  in  the  ice  there,  and  to  offer  assist 
ance  in  case  it  should  be  required. 

On  the  fifteenth,  near  Icy  Cape,  we  spoke 
one  of  the  whalers  from  whom  we  learned  that 
the  Daniel  Webster  was  crushed  and  sunk, 
that  about  half  the  crew  had  made  their  way 
down  the  coast  to  near  Icy  Cape,  where  they 
found  the  Coral  and  were  taken  on  board, 
and  that  the  others  were  still  at  Point  Barrow 
or  scattered  along  the  shore,  unless  picked  up 
by  some  of  the  fleet  that  were  going  north  in 
search  of  them  as  fast  as  the  state  of  the  ice 
would  allow. 

Captain  Owen  of  the  bark  Belvedere  had 
sent  a  letter  to  them  by  one  of  the  natives,  di- 

200 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

recting  them  to  build  large  driftwood  fires  on 
the  beach  to  indicate  their  positions,  and  as 
suring  them  that  relief  was  near.  We  had  hoped 
that,  though  beset  in  the  heavy,  drifting  pack 
and  carried  northward  helpless  and  rigid  as  a 
fly  in  amber,  some  change  in  the  wind  and  cur 
rent  might  set  them  free.  But  in  discussing  the 
question  with  an  experienced  whaler  who  had 
lost  the  first  ship  that  he  was  master  of  at  the 
same  place  and  in  the  same  way,  he  said  that 
he  had  given  her  up  for  lost  as  soon  as  she  was 
known  to  be  embayed. 

On  receiving  this  news  we  started  for  Point 
Barrow  and  found  the  way  clear,  the  pack  hav 
ing  been  blown  offshore  a  few  miles,  and  a  heavy 
current  was  sweeping  to  the  northward.  Tues 
day,  the  sixteenth,  was  calm  and  foggy  at  times; 
large  masses  of  beautiful  ice,  blue  and  green 
and  white,  of  every  conceivable  form,  like  the 
bergs  derived  from  glaciers,  were  drifting  with 
the  riverlike  current  or  lying  aground  —  the 
remnants  of  the  grand  pack  that  so  lately  held 
possession  of  all  the  sea  hereabouts. 

When  we  were  passing  Point  Belcher  and 
Sunarnara  l  we  learned  from  the  natives  that 
the  ice  was  offshore  as  far  as  Point  Barrow  and 
beyond,  that  several  whale-ships  were  already 
there,  and  that  all  the  men  from  the  broken 

1  Sinaru? 
201 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

ship  had  been  taken  on  board.  For  some  time 
the  fog  was  so  dense  and  the  huge  bergs  so 
abundant  we  were  compelled  to  lie  to  and  drift 
with  the  current;  but  shortly  after  noon  the  sun 
came  out,  making  a  dazzling  show  among  the 
ice  and  silvery  water.  Then  the  conical  huts  of 
the  Eskimo  village  on  Point  Barrow  came  in 
sight,  and  rounding  the  Point  we  found  our 
selves  in  the  midst  of  quite  a  fleet  of  whalers, 
from  whom  we  received  the  good  news  that, 
as  we  had  been  told  by  the  natives,  all  the 
missing  members  of  the  wrecked  crew  had  at 
length  been  picked  up  and  were  now  distrib 
uted  among  the  different  vessels.  A  few  of 
them  have  been  permanently  added  to  the 
crews  of  the  rescuing  ships  lying  here,  and 
nine  have  been  received  on  board  of  the 
Corwin. 

The  strip  of  water  sometimes  found  between 
Icy  Cape  and  Point  Barrow  is  perhaps  the  most 
dangerous  whaling  ground  yet  discovered.  The 
ice  is  of  tremendous  thickness,  a  hundred  feet 
or  more,  and  its  movements  are  extremely  va 
riable  from  season  to  season,  and  almost  from 
day  to  day.  It  seldom  leaves  this  part  of  the 
coast  very  far,  some  years  not  at  all,  and  it  is 
always  liable  to  be  driven  close  inshore  by  a  few 
hours  or  days  of  strong  wind  blowing  from  any 
point  of  the  compass  around  from  north  to 
202 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

southwest.  When,  as  frequently  happens,  there 
is  a  margin  of  fixed  ice  along  the  shore  the  posi 
tion  of  ships  is  most  dangerous,  for  when  the 
pack  comes  in  and  catches  vessels  in  this  ice 
bound  lane  while  trying  to  beat  southward 
against  wind  and  current,  it  closes  upon  them 
and  crushes  them  as  between  huge  crunching 
jaws.  Should  there  be  no  fixed  ice,  then  vessels 
may  simply  be  shoved  ashore. 

It  is  not  long  since  the  first  whale-ship  passed 
Bering  Strait,  and  yet  no  less  than  forty-seven 
have  been  crushed  hereabouts,  or  pushed 
ashore,  or  embayed  and  swept  away  north 
ward  to  nobody  knows  where,  while  many 
others  have  had  narrow  escapes. 

Thirty-three  were  caught  and  lost  in  this 
way  here  at  one  time,  thirteen  the  following 
season,  and  one  last  July,  while  two  others 
barely  made  their  escape  the  same  day  just  as 
the  fatal  ice-jaws  closed  behind  them.  This  last 
victim,  the  Daniel  Webster,  left  New  Bed 
ford  in  November,  1880,  passed  through  Bering 
Strait  on  the  tenth  of  June,  and  was  caught  in 
the  pack  July  3.  It  seems  from  the  account  fur 
nished  us  by  the  first  mate  that  she  was  follow 
ing  up  a  lead  of  open  water  about  five  miles 
wide,  between  the  main  ocean  pack  and  a  strip 
of  shore-ice,  fancying  that  two  other  ships  that 
she  had  been  following  the  day  previous  were 

203 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

still  ahead,  and  on  whose  movements  the  Cap 
tain,  who  had  no  experience  here,  this  being 
his  first  voyage,  was  to  some  extent  depending. 
These  two  leaders,  however,  had  turned  and 
fled  during  the  night  without  being  observed, 
while  the  Daniel  Webster  kept  on  northward, 
until  within  sight  of  the  end  of  the  water-lane, 
when  she  turned  and  attempted  to  beat  her 
way  back.  But  wind  and  current  were  against 
her,  the  huge  ice-walls  came  steadily  nearer, 
and  at  length  closed  on  the  doomed  vessel, 
carrying  her  away  as  if  she  were  a  mere  bit 
of  drift  timber.  About  an  hour  later  she  was 
crushed,  and  sank  to  her  upper  deck  in  about 
twenty  minutes.  Then  she  fell  over  on  her 
beam-ends  against  the  ice  and  soon  vanished 
in  the  icy  wilderness. 

The  Point  Barrow  Eskimos,  keenly  familiar 
with  the  actions  of  the  winds  and  currents  on 
the  movements  of  the  ice,  watched  the  strug 
gling  ship,  and  came  aboard  before  the  ice  had 
yet  closed  upon  her,  like  wolves  scenting  then* 
prey  from  afar.  Many  a  wreck  had  they  en 
joyed  here,  and  now,  sure  of  yet  another,  they 
ran  about  the  ship  examining  every  movable 
article,  and  narrowly  scanning  the  rigging  and 
sails  with  reference  to  carrying  away  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  best  of  everything,  such  as 
the  sails,  lead  pipe  for  bullets,  hard  bread, 

204 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

sugar,  tobacco,  etc.,  in  case  they  should  have 
but  a  short  time  to  work. 

She  filled  so  quickly  after  being  crushed  that 
the  crew  saved  but  little  more  than  the  clothes 
they  were  wearing.  Some  hard  bread,  beef  and 
other  stores  were  hastily  thrown  over  upon  the 
ice,  and  one  boat  was  secured.  As  soon  as  she 
was  given  up,  the  Eskimos  climbed  into  the 
rigging,  and  dexterously  cut  away  and  secured 
all  the  sails,  which  they  value  highly  for  making 
sails  for  their  large  traveling  canoes  and  for 
covers  for  their  summer  huts.  Then  they  se 
cured  as  much  lead  as  possible  and  anything 
they  could  lay  hands  on,  acting  promptly  and 
showing  the  completeness  of  the  apprentice 
ship  they  had  served. 

The  ship  was  then  about  five  miles  from  the 
Eskimo  village,  and  the  natives  were  allowed 
to  assist  in  carrying  everything  that  had  been 
saved.  Under  the  circumstances,  in  getting  over 
the  five  miles  of  ice  with  such  riches,  they,  like 
white  men,  reasoned  themselves  into  the  belief 
that  everything  belonged  to  them,  even  the 
chronometers  and  sextants.  Accordingly,  at 
the  village  a  general  division  was  made  in  so 
masterly  a  manner  that  by  the  time  the  officers 
and  crew  reached  the  place  their  goods  had 
vanished  into  a  hundred-odd  dens  and  holes; 
and  when,  hungry,  they  asked  for  some  of 

205 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

their  own  biscuits,  the  natives  complacently 
offered  to  sell  them  at  the  rate  of  so  much  to 
bacco  apiece.  Even  the  chronometers  had  been 
divided,  it  is  said,  after  being  taken  apart,  the 
wheels  and  bits  of  shining  metal  being  regarded 
as  fine  jewelry  for  the  young  women  and  chil 
dren  to  wear.  A  keg  of  rum,  that  the  officers 
feared  might  fall  into  the  Eskimos'  hands  and 
cause  trouble  by  making  them  drunk,  was 
thrown  heavily  over  on  the  ice  with  the  inten 
tion  of  smashing  it,  but  it  was  not  broken  by 
the  fall.  One  of  the  Eskimos  picked  up  the 
prize,  to  him  more  precious  than  its  weight  in 
gold,  and  sped  away  over  the  slippery  crags 
and  hollows  of  the  ice  with  admirable  speed, 
vainly  pursued  by  the  first  mate,  and  at  the 
village  it  disappeared  as  far  beyond  recovery 
as  if  it  had  been  poured  into  a  hot  sand  bank. 
As  wreckers,  traders,  and  drinkers  these  sturdy 
Eskimos  are  making  rapid  progress,  notwith 
standing  the  fortunate  disadvantages  they 
labor  under,  as  compared  with  their  white 
brethren,  dwelling  in  so  severe  a  climate  on  the 
confines  of  the  frozen  sea. 

The  entire  crew  numbered  twenty-eight  men. 
All  except  the  second  mate  and  two  of  the  sail- 
qrs  started  down  the  coast  afoot,  after  waiting 
some  time  for  the  ice  to  drift  offshore  far 
enough  to  allow  some  of  the  other  ships  to  come 

206 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

to  their  relief,  or  at  least  far  enough  to  leave  a 
passage  for  their  boat.  At  the  river  Cogrua  x 
ten  of  the  party  turned  back,  weary  and  hungry 
and  discouraged,  to  Cape  Smyth,  to  pick  up  a 
living  of  oil  and  seal  meat  until  relieved,  rather 
than  face  the  danger  of  fording  the  river  and 
enduring  yet  greater  hardships.  The  others 
pushed  forward.  Directed  by  one  of  the  na 
tives,  they  went  up  the  bank  of  the  river  about 
twenty  miles  from  its  mouth,  to  where  it  is 
much  narrower.  Here  they  forded  without 
danger,  carrying  their  clothes  on  their  heads 
to  keep  them  dry. 

Both  parties  seem  to  have  suffered  con 
siderably  from  hunger  as  well  as  from  cold  and 
fatigue.  The  seal  and  oil  meals,  which  the 
natives  of  the  different  villages  they  passed 
good-naturedly  allowed  them  to  share,  but  ill- 
supplied  the  place  of  their  old-fashioned,  rough 
and  regular  rations.  They  speak  of  having  been 
reduced  to  the  strait  of  eating  roots  and  leaves 
of  the  few  dwarf  plants  found  along  their  way. 
At  Point  Belcher  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
find  a  traveling  party  of  natives,  who,  after 
their  shaman  had  duly  consulted  the  spirits, 
supposed  to  be  influential  and  wise  concerning 

1  Kugrua,  a  river  tributary  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  at  the 
Seahorse  Islands,  a  little  east  of  Pt.  Belcher.  According  to 
John  Murdoch,  Kug'ru  is  the  Eskimo  name  of  the  Whistling 
Swan. 

207 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

the  affairs  of  this  rough  region,  and  reported 
favorably,  agreed  to  take  the  party  in  their 
canoe  southward  to  seek  the  whaling  fleet,  the 
pack  having  by  this  time  commenced  to  leave 
the  shore.  By  this  means  the  wanderers  reached 
the  bark  Coral  in  four  days,  at  a  cost  of  two 
rifles  and  some  tobacco. 

The  others  were  kindly  received  by  the  Cape 
Smyth  people  and  entertained  until  the  ice  left 
the  shore.  One  of  the  three  left  at  Point  Bar 
row,  it  seems,  wandered  southward*  alone  and 
lost  himself  with  fright  and  hunger.  He  was 
without  food  for  five  days,  save  what  he  could 
pick  up  from  the  sparse  sedgy  vegetation,  and 
was  nearly  dead  when  discovered  by  a  relief 
party  from  one  of  the  ships.  The  natives,  he 
said,  refused  to  allow  him  to  enter  their  huts, 
because  his  eyes  were  wild  and  he  would 
soon  be  crazy.  Fortunately,  all  are  now  cared 
for. 

Newly  discovered  whaling  grounds,  like  gold 
mines,  are  soon  overcrowded  and  worked  out, 
the  whales  being  either  killed  or  driven  away. 
But  whales  worth  four  or  five  thousand  dollars 
apiece  are  so  intensely  attractive  and  interest 
ing  that  the  grand  game  has  been  hunted  in 
the  face  of  a  thousand  dangers  over  nearly  all 
the  seas  and  oceans  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Ac 
cording  to  Alexander  Starbuck,  in  his  history  of 

208 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

the  American  whale  fishery,  there  belonged, 
in  the  year  1846,  to  the  various  ports  of  the 
United  States  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
ships  and  barks,  thirty-five  brigs,  and  twenty- 
two  schooners  that  were  hunting  whales.  In 
1843  the  first  bowhead  whales  taken  in  the 
North  Pacific  were  captured  on  the  coast  of 
Kamchatka,  and  in  1848  the  first  whale-ship 
passed  Bering  Strait.  This  was  the  bark  Su 
perior,  Captain  Royce.  A  full  cargo  was  easily 
obtained,  because  of  the  abundance  and  tame- 
ness  of  the  whales. 

The  news,  like  a  gold  discovery,  spread 
rapidly,  and  within  the  next  three  years  two 
hundred  and  fifty  ships  had  obtained  cargoes 
of  oil  and  bone  here.  This  is,  therefore,  a  com 
paratively  new  hunting  ground.  Nevertheless 
it  is  being  rapidly  exhausted.  The  precious 
bowheads  are  no  longer  seen  in  "long  winrows," 
as  described  by  an  old  whaleman  familiar  with 
the  region.  This  year  only  twenty  vessels  are 
engaged  in  the  business. 

In  1871  thirty-three  vessels  were  caught  in 
one  flock  off  Point  Belcher  and  crushed  or 
shoved  ashore.  One  of  them  is  said  to  have 
been  "  crushed  to  atoms,"  the  officers  and 
crews  escaping  over  the  ice,  saving  scarcely 
anything  but  their  lives.  In  a  few  days  after 
the  sixth  of  August  most  of  the  fleet  was  north 

209 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

of  Blossom  Shoals,  and  worked  to  the  north 
east  as  far  as  Wainwright  Inlet.  Here  the  ships 
either  anchored  or  made  fast  to  the  ice,  which 
was  very  heavy  and  densely  packed.  On  the 
eleventh  of  August  a  sudden  change  of  wind 
drove  the  ice  inshore,  catching  a  large  number 
of  boats  that  were  out  in  pursuit  of  whales, 
and  forcing  the  ships  to  work  inshore  in  the 
lee  of  the  ground  ice. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  August  the  incoming 
pack  grounded,  leaving  only  a  narrow  strip  of 
water,  in  which  the  fleet  was  imprisoned  more 
and  more  narrowly  until  the  twenty-fifth, 
when  a  strong  northeast  gale  drove  the  ice  a 
few  miles  offshore,  and  whale-catching  went 
on  briskly  without  fear  of  another  imprison 
ment.  But  on  the  twenty-ninth  a  southwest 
wind  again  drove  the  ice  inshore,  and  once 
more  shut-in  the  doomed  fleet.  The  thirty- 
three  vessels  were  scattered  along  the  coast 
for  twenty  miles,  more  and  more  rigidly  beset 
until  the  fourteenth  of  September,  when  they 
were  abandoned  —  that  is,  those  not  already 
crushed. 

The  following  protest,  throwing  a  vivid 
light  upon  the  subject,  was  written  on  the 
twelfth  of  September,  and  signed  by  all  the  cap 
tains  before  abandoning  their  vessels :  — 


210 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

Point  Belcher,  Arctic  Ocean. 
^  September  12,  1871. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  we,  the 
undersigned,  masters  of  whale-ships  now  lying  at 
Point  Belcher,  after  holding  a  meeting  concerning 
our  dreadful  situation,  have  all  come  to  the  con 
clusion  that  our  ships  cannot  be  got  out  this  year, 
and  there  being  no  harbors  that  we  can  get  our  ves 
sels  into,  and  not  having  provisions  enough  to  feed 
our  crews  to  exceed  three  months,  and  being  in  a 
barren  country,  where  there  is  neither  food  nor  fuel 
to  be  obtained,  we  feel  ourselves  under  the  painful 
necessity  of  abandoning  our  vessels,  and  trying  to 
work  our  way  south  with  our  boats,  and,  if  possible, 
get  on  board  of  ships  that  are  south  of  the  ice.  We 
do  not  think  it  would  be  prudent  to  leave  a  single 
soul  to  look  after  our  vessels,  as  the  first  westerly 
gale  will  crowd  the  ice  ashore,  and  either  crush  the 
ships  or  drive  them  high  upon  the  beach.  Three  of 
the  fleet  have  already  been  crushed,  and  two  are 
now  lying  hove  out,  which  have  been  crushed  by 
the  ice  and  are  leaking  badly.  We  have  now  five 
wrecked  crews  distributed  among  us,  we  have 
barely  room  to  swing  at  anchor  between  the  ice 
pack  and  the  beach,  and  we  are  lying  in  three 
fathoms  of  water.  Should  we  be  cast  on  the  beach 
it  would  be  at  least  eleven  months  before  we  could 
look  for  assistance,  and  in  all  probability  nine  out 
of  ten  would  die  of  starvation  or  scurvy  before  the 
opening  of  spring. 

All  the  officers  and  crews  —  twelve  hundred 
and  nineteen  souls  —  reached  the  seven  relief 
vessels  that  lay  waiting  their  arrival  outside 
211 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

t 

the  ice,  and  were  distributed  among  them,  these 
seven  being  the  remnant  of  the  fleet  that  passed 
through  Bering  Strait  in  the  spring.  The  next 
summer  only  five  of  the  thirty-three  were  seen, 
one  of  them  comparatively  uninjured.  All  the 
rest  had  been  smashed,  sunk,  burned,  or  car 
ried  away  in  the  pack. 

Five  years  later,  in  1876,  the  fleet  consisted  of 
twenty  ships  and  barks,  and  of  this  number 
thirteen  were  embayed  in  the  pack,  twenty  or 
thirty  miles  off  Point  Barrow.  After  waiting 
and  hoping  for  the  coming  of  a  liberating  gale 
as  long  as  they  dared,  the  masters  decided  that 
it  was  necessary  to  abandon  their  vessels.  Out 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  persons,  fifty- 
three  remained  with  the  ships,  hoping  to  get 
them  free  in  the  spring ;  but  not  one  of  the  ships 
or  of  those  who  stayed  on  them,  was  ever  seen 
again.  The  three  hundred  who  left  their  vessels 
after  enduring  great  hardships,  succeeded  in 
making  good  their  escape  to  the  rest  of  the  fleet 
waiting  outside  the  pack  —  all  save  three  or 
four  who  perished  by  the  way. 

There  are  now  twelve  whale-ships  about 
Point  Barrow  in  sight  from  the  Corwin,  and  all 
that  would  be  necessary  to  shut  them  in  is  a  gale 
from  the  southwest.  Still  the  great  love  of  ac 
tion,  and  the  great  love  of  money,  compel  the 
risk  here  and  elsewhere  over  and  over  again. 

212 


TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  WHALING  FLEET 

The  Corwin  is  now  about  to  go  southward  to 
coal,  at  the  mine  twenty  miles  east  of  Cape 
Lisburne;  or,  in  case  the  weather  should  be  too 
rough  to  land  at  the  mine,  which  is  on  a  bare, 
exposed  portion  of  the  coast,  to  Plover  Bay. 
Then  we  will  return  to  the  Arctic  prepared  to 
make  other  efforts  to  get  on  the  south  and  east 
shores  of  Wrangell  Land. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MEETING  THE   POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

Steamer  Conuin, 
Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  August  25,  1881. 

WE  left  icy,  gloomy  Point  Barrow  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  eighteenth,  with  fine  Arctic 
weather,  which  held  out  good  hopes  that  we 
would  be  able  to  lie  two  days  at  the  mine 
twenty  miles  east  of  Cape  Lisburne,  in  order  to 
take  out  and  get  on  board  a  sufficient  quan 
tity  of  coal  to  last  the  Corwin  the  remainder  of 
the  season  in  the  Arctic.  But  by  the  time  we 
got  down  the  coast  near  the  mine  the  weather 
was  rough,  with  a  heavy  sea  sending  stormy 
breakers  against  the  exposed  coal  bluff,  render 
ing  it  impossible  to  land  and  work.  And  as  there 
is  no  shelter  whatever  for  a  vessel  anywhere 
in  the  vicinity,  and  no  likelihood  from  any  in 
dications  that  the  weather  would  improve,  it 
was  decided  that  we  should  proceed  at  once  to 
Plover  Bay,  our  next  nearest  coaling  point. 

This  Arctic  mine,  the  nearest  to  the  North 
Pole,  as  far  as  I  know,  of  any  yet  discovered 
on  the  American  continent,  produces  coal  of 
excellent  quality  in  great  abundance  and  easily 
worked.  There  are  five  principal  veins,  from 

214 


THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

two  to  ten  feet  thick,  fully  exposed  on  the  face 
of  a  bluff  about  two  hundred  feet  high,  except 
ing  some  of  the  lower  sections  that  are  covered 
with  icy  snowbanks.  The  latter  are  derived 
from  drift  that  comes  from  the  wind-swept  hills, 
and  does  not  melt  till  late  in  the  summer,  or 
not  at  all.  The  lower  exposed  portions  of  all  the 
veins  are  beaten  and  worn  by  the  sea  waves. 
There  can  scarcely  be  any  doubt,  from  what 
I  have  seen  of  the  formation  in  which  it  occurs, 
that  this  is  a  true  carboniferous  coal,  and  su 
perior  to  the  great  bulk  of  the  tertiary  and 
cretaceous  coal  found  on  this  side  the  continent 
farther  south.  The  Corwin  coaled  here  twice 
last  summer,  and  again  this  summer,  July  27 
and  28.  So  also  did  the  steam  whale-ship 
Belvedere.  During  calm  weather  the  crew  of 
the  Corwin  can  dig  out  and  put  in  sacks,  and 
bring  off  in  boats,  about  thirty  tons  per  day. 

On  the  twenty-first  we  passed  through  Ber 
ing  Strait  in  a  dense  fog  without  sighting  either 
of  the  Diomede  Islands,  which  even  in  weather 
clear  elsewhere  are  almost  constantly  enveloped 
in  fog,  causing  no  little  anxiety  to  the  navigator, 
inasmuch  as  they  stand  directly  in  the  middle 
of  the  narrow  part  of  the  strait.  A  third  islet 
called  Fairway  Rock,  together  with  the  uncer 
tain  flow  of  the  currents  hereabouts,  renders  the 
danger  all  the  greater.  The  larger  Diomede 

215 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

is  about  six  miles  long,  the  other  half  as  large, 
and  Fairway  Rock  still  smaller.  All  three  are 
simply  residual  masses  of  granite  brought  into 
relief  by  glacial  action  before  the  strait  was  in 
existence.  These  rocks  rise  above  the  general 
level  because  of  their  superior  strength  con 
sidered  with  reference  to  the  resistance  they 
offered  to  glacial  degradation. 

Approaching  the  islands  in  thick  weather, 
the  first  intimation  the  navigator  has  of  his 
being  near  them,  and  of  the  direction  in  which 
they  bear,  is  either  from  the  winds  which  gurgle 
and  reverberate  in  passing  over  them,  or  from 
the  birds  —  auks,  murres,  and  gulls  —  which 
dwell  on  the  rocks  in  myriads,  and  come  and 
go  several  miles  into  the  adjacent  waters  to 
feed.  To  persons  acquainted  with  their  habits 
it  is  not  difficult  to  determine  whether  their 
flight  is  directed  homewards  or  away  from 
home.  Thus  the  natives  who  dwell  on  these 
gloomy,  dripping  rocks  and  visit  the  shores  of 
the  adjacent  continents  in  their  frail  skin- 
covered  canoes,  are  directed.  But  how  the 
birds  themselves  find  their  way,  flying  in 
arrowlike  courses  to  their  nests,  when  every 
direction  seems  to  us  the  same,  is  truly  mar 
velous. 

On  cloudy  nights  it  is  dark  now  at  midnight. 
The  sun  sets  before  eight  o'clock,  but  because  it 

216 


THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

sinks  only  a  few  degrees  below  the  horizon,  the 
twilight  lasts  nearly  all  night.  In  a  week  or  two, 
however,  we  shall  have  seven  or  eight  hours  of 
real  night,  for,  of  course,  the  transition  from 
constant  day  to  day  and  night  is  very  rapid 
in  these  high  latitudes.  This  new  order  of 
things  will  be  delightful.  A  few  days  ago  we 
saw  two  stars  in  the  twilight,  which  to  us  was 
an  exceedingly  interesting  event  after  two 
months  of  starless  day.  The  glories  of  the  mid 
night  sun  in  this  mysterious  polar  world  are 
truly  enchanting,  but  not  nearly  so  much  so  as 
the  glories  of  the  midday  sun  in  lower  latitudes, 
succeeded  by  the  glories  of  the  night,  the  deep 
sky  of  stars  and  the  grateful  change  and  repose 
they  bring. 

After  passing  through  the  Strait  we  had  two 
gray,  howling  days,  with  head  winds  and  rain, 
and  thick  fog,  through  which  the  Corwin  beat 
her  way,  or  was  held  lying  to,  heaving  and 
rolling  somewhere  between  St.  Lawrence  Island 
and  Indian  Point,  as  near  as  could  be  made  out 
at  the  time  by  dead  reckoning,  and  guessing 
the  speed  of  the  northerly  current.  Lying  to 
in  a  gale,  enveloped  in  old  fogs,1  and  with  little 
sea-room,  and  variable  currents,  is  anything 
but  pleasant,  to  say  nothing  of  the  tedious  dis- 

1  Fogs  that  have  lasted  a  long  time  and  prevented  the  tak 
ing  of  observations  for  the  position  of  the  ship. 

217 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

comforts  caused  by  the  movements  of  the  ves 
sel,  the  unceasing  see-saw,  creaking,  pitching, 
and  complaining.  At  such  times  only  the  gulls, 
those  light-winged  rovers  of  the  sea,  appear  to 
be  patient  and  comfortable  as  they  gracefully 
drift  and  glide  over  the  wild-tossing  waves,  or 
circle  on  easy  wing  about  the  ship,  veering 
deftly  from  side  to  side,  and  wavering  up  and 
down  through  the  gray,  sleety  gloom. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth,  when 
the  fog  lifted,  we  found  ourselves  far  north  of 
our  supposed  position;  the  flow  of  the  current 
to  the  northward  during  the  two  preceding 
days  having  been  nearly  eighty  miles.  We  ar 
rived  here  at  five  in  the  afternoon. 

Entering  the  harbor,  we  discovered  the 
schooner  Golden  Fleece  lying  at  anchor,  and 
shortly  afterward  a  party  from  her  came 
aboard  the  Corwin,  which  proved  to  be  Lieu 
tenant  Ray,1  and  his  company  of  Signal  Service 
officers  on  their  way  to  establish  a  station  at 
Point  Barrow  —  ten  persons  in  all.2  Mr.  Ray 
seems  to  be  the  right  man  for  the  place.  He 

1  P.  H.  Ray. 

2  This  was  the  International  Polar  Expedition  to  Point 
Barrow,  Alaska.  The  report  of  the  valuable  series  of  scien 
tific  observations  and  explorations  made  from  1881  to  1883 
at  the  Point  Barrow  Station  was  published  as  House  Exec 
utive  Document,   No.  44,  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress. 
Among  the  members  of  the  party  were  John  Murdoch  and 
Middleton  Smith. 

218 


THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

hopes  to  be  able  to  get  his  buildings  up  and 
everything  put  in  order  before  the  coming  on  of 
winter,  making  a  home  in  that  stern  wilderness 
for  three  years. 

Point  Barrow  is  a  low,  barren  spit  putting 
out  into  the  icy  ocean,  and,  before  the  discov 
ery  of  Wrangell  Land,  the  northernmost  point 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  For  many 
years  it  was  believed  to  be  the  northern  ex 
tremity  of  the  American  continent.  But  the 
extreme  point  of  the  peninsula  of  Boothia 
proves  to  be  a  few  miles  farther  north  than 
this.  At  first  sight  it  would  seem  a  gloomy 
time  to  look  forward  to  —  three  years  in  so 
remote  and  so  severely  desolate  and  forbid 
ding  a  region,  generally  regarded  as  the  top 
most  frost-killed  end  of  creation! 

But,  amid  all  the  disadvantages  of  position, 
these  men  have  much  in  their  lot  for  which  they 
might  well  be  envied  by  people  dwelling  in 
softer  climates.  There  is  the  freshness  of  their 
field  of  research  in  natural  history,  the  im 
mense  number  of  summer  birds  that  visit  this 
region  to  molt  and  rear  their  young;  the  fine 
opportunities  they  will  have  to  study  the  habits 
of  the  reindeer  on  the  tundras,  and  the  mag 
nificent  polar  bear  among  the  ice  —  the  master 
animal  of  the  north.  Then  there  is  the  chance 
to  study  the  little-known  western  Eskimos, 

219 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

who  have  a  village  l  on  the  point,  numbering 
about  two  hundred  persons.2 

Advantage,  too,  I  am  told,  will  be  taken  of 
the  opportunity  offered  to  explore  the  Colville 
and  Inland  Rivers,  both  of  them  large  streams, 
the  one  flowing  into  the  [Arctic]  Ocean  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  to  the  east  of 
Point  Barrow,  the  other  into  Bering  Sea 
through  Hotham  Inlet  and  Kotzebue  Sound. 
They  are  almost  entirely  unexplored.  Some 
of  their  upper  branches  must  approach  each 
other,  as  the  Eskimos  ascend  the  Colville  and, 
making  a  portage,  descend  the  Inland  River 
to  Hotham  Inlet  every  year  to  trade,  or  at 
the  portage  meet  natives  from  the  other  river 
and  trade  there.  The  exploration  of  these 
rivers  is  a  very  interesting  piece  of  work,  and 
Mr.  Ray  tells  me  that  he  intends  to  make  an 
effort  to  accomplish  it  at  the  earliest  oppor 
tunity.  Furthermore,  he  is  ambitious  to  achieve 
something  in  the  way  of  new  discoveries  out  in 
the  Polar  Ocean  to  the  northward  of  his  sta 
tion. 

From  the  fact  that  a  current  sets  northward 
past  Herald  Island,  and  keeps  a  long  lane  reach- 

1  Nuwuk. 

2  An  admirable  study  of  these  Eskimos  was,  indeed,  made 
by  John  Murdoch,  a  member  of  the  party,  and  published  in 
House  Executive  Document,  No.  44  (1885),  and  in  the  Ninth 
Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  (1892). 

220 


THE  POINT  BARROW  EXPEDITION 

ing  far  beyond  Herald  Island  open  every  sum 
mer,  while  the  ice  remains  jammed  only  a  few 
miles  off  Point  Barrow  and  Cape  Yakan,  Si 
beria,  and  some  years  does  not  leave  the  shores 
at  all,  it  would  seem  that  there  is  a  land  lying 
to  the  east  of  Wrangell  Land,  making  a  strait 
up  which  the  northerly  current  flows,  while  the 
unknown  land  prevents  any  great  movement 
in  the  ice  immediately  to  the  north  of  the 
American  continent,  as  Wrangell  Land  [stays] 
the  ice  opposite  Cape  Yakan  and  the  coast  in 
its  vicinity.  Again,  migratory  birds  in  large 
flocks  have  been  seen  flying  north  from  Point 
Barrow  in  the  spring,  and  returning  in  the  fall. 
Besides,  certain  vague  reports,  which  may 
have  their  foundation  in  fact,  have  been  in 
circulation  to  the  effect  that  land  in  this  direc 
tion  has  been  actually  seen  by  a  whaler,  who 
was  well  offshore  to  the  northeastward  from 
Point  Barrow,  in  an  exceptionally  open  season. 
With  the  experience  that  he  will  gain  among 
the  ice  at  Point  Barrow,  and  the  resources  at 
command  in  the  way  of  good  assistants,  skilled 
native  travelers,  with  good  dogs  and  sleds,  etc., 
Mr.  Ray  may  possibly  be  able  to  cross  over  the 
ice  to  this  land,  if  land  there  be.  In  any  case, 
whatever  journeys  may  be  made,  over  the  ice 
or  over  the  land,  in  summer  or  in  winter,  some 
new  facts  will  surely  be  gained  well  worth  the 
221 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

pains,  for  no  portion  of  the  world  is  so  barren 
as  not  to  yield  a  rich  and  precious  harvest  of 
divine  truth. 

Nor  will  these  men  be  likely  to  suffer  greatly. 
The  winter  cold,  when  skillfully  met  in  soft  hair 
and  fur,  is  not  hard  to  bear,  while  in  summer  it 
is  so  warm  that  the  Eskimo  children  run  about 
naked.  The  piling  up  of  the  ice  on  the  shore 
in  winter  and  spring  must  make  a  magnificent 
border  for  a  home;  and  the  auroral  curtains  and 
the  deep  starry  nights,  lasting  for  weeks,  must 
be  glorious. 

The  Corwin  towed  the  Golden  Fleece  to  sea 
this  morning,  and  we  hope  to  finish  coaling, 
etc.,  in  a  day  or  two,  and  set  out  once  more  to 
the  shores  of  Wrangell  Land. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A   SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

Steamer  Corwin, 
Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  August  26,  1881. 

THIS  morning  a  party  from  the  ship  went  to 
the  head  of  the  bay  under  the  guidance  of  a 
pair  of  Chukchis  to  see  a  herd  of  reindeer  that 
they  told  us  was  there.  The  distance,  we  found, 
is  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  lower  harbor, 
where  the  Corwin  is  at  anchor.  The  day  was 
fine  and  we  enjoyed  the  sail  very  much,  skim 
ming  rapidly  along  in  the  steam  launch  over 
smooth  water,  past  the  huge  ice-sculptured 
headlands  and  mountains  that  formed  the  walls, 
and  the  deep  canons  and  valleys  between  them 
that  swept  back  to  clusters  of  glacial  fountains. 
The  naturalist  made  desperate  efforts  now  and 
then  to  obtain  specimens  of  rare  auks,  petrels, 
ducks,  etc.,  which  were  flying  and  swimming 
about  us  in  great  abundance,  making  lively 
pictures  of  happy,  exuberant  life. 

The  rocks  bounding  the  bay,  though  beauti 
ful  in  their  combinations  and  collocations  of 
curves  and  peaks,  inflowing  and  touching  deli 
cately,  and  rising  in  bold,  picturesque  groups, 
are,  nevertheless,  intensely  desolate-looking 

223 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

for  want  of  trees,  shrubs,  or  vegetation  dense 
enough  to  give  color  in  telling  quantities  visible 
at  a  distance.  Even  the  valleys  opening  back 
from  the  water  here  and  there  are  mostly  bare 
as  seen  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two,  and 
have  only  faint  tinges  of  green  derived  from 
dwarf  willows,  sedges,  and  heathworts  that 
creep  low  among  the  stones.  Yet  here,  or  in 
the  larger  valleys  adjacent,  where  the  main 
tributary  glaciers  came  into  the  Plover  Bay 
trunk,  and  in  other  valleys  to  the  northeast 
ward,  large  herds  of  reindeer,  wild  as  well  as 
tame,  find  sustenance,  together  with  a  few  wild 
sheep  and  bears. 

On  the  terminal  moraine  of  the  ancient  gla 
cier  that  formed  the  first  main  tributary  of  the 
Plover  Bay  Glacier,  some  four  miles  from  the 
extreme  head  of  the  bay,  we  noticed  two  small 
skin-covered  huts,  which  our  guides  informed 
us  belonged  to  the  reindeer  people  we  were  seek 
ing,  and  that  we  should  certainly  find  them  at 
home,  because  their  herd  was  only  a  little  one 
and  found  plenty  of  weeds  and  moss  to  eat  in 
the  valleys  behind  their  huts  without  going  far 
away,  as  the  people  had  to  do  who  owned  big 
herds.  At  two  days'  distance,  they  said,  where 
the  valleys  are  wide  and  green,  with  plenty  to 
eat,  there  is  a  big  herd  belonging  to  one  of  their 
friends,  so  big  that  they  cover  all  the  ground 

224 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

thereabouts;  but  the  herd  we  were  to  see  was 
only  a  little  one,  and  the  owner  was  not  a  rich 
man. 

As  we  approached  the  shore,  a  hundred  yards 
or  so  from  the  huts,  a  young  man  came  running 
to  meet  us,  bounding  over  the  moraine  bould 
ers,  with  easy  strength  as  if  his  limbs  had  been 
trained  on  the  mountains  for  many  a  year, 
until  running  had  become  a  pleasant  indul 
gence.  He  was  presently  joined  by  three  others, 
who  gazed  and  smiled  curiously  at  the  steam 
launch  and  at  our  party,  wondering  suspi 
ciously,  when  the  interpreter  had  told  our  ob 
ject,  why  we  should  come  so  far  and  seem  so 
eager  to  see  their  deer.  Our  guides,  who,  of 
course,  understood  their  prejudices  and  super 
stitions,  told  them  that  we  wanted  a  big,  fat 
deer  to  eat,  and  that  we  would  pay  them  well 
for  it  —  tobacco,  lead,  powder,  caps,  shot, 
calico,  knives,  etc.,  told  off  in  tempting  order. 
But  they  said  they  had  none  to  sell,  and  it 
required  half  an  hour  of  cautious  negotiations 
to  get  them  over  their  suspicious  alarms,  and 
[to  induce  them  to]  consent  to  sell  the  carcass 
of  one,  provided  we  would  leave  the  skin,  which 
they  said  they  wanted  to  keep  for  winter  gar 
ments. 

Then  two  young  men,  fine,  strapping,  elastic 
fellows,  threw  off  their  upper  parkas,  tied  their 

225 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

handsomely  embroidered  moccasins  firmly 
across  the  instep  and  around  the  ankle,  poised 
their  long  Russian  spears,  which  they  said  they 
always  carried  in  case  they  should  meet  a  bear 
or  wolf,  and  away  they  sped  after  the  herd  up 
a  long,  wide  glacier  valley  along  the  bank  of  a 
stream,  bounding  lightly  from  rock  to  rock  in 
easy  poise,  and  across  soft  bits  of  tundra  and 
rough  sedgy  meadows  with  long,  heaving,  un 
dulating  strides.  Their  gait,  as  far  as  we  could 
see,  was  steadily  maintained  and  was  admirably 
lithe  and  strong  and  graceful.  Their  small  feet 
and  ankles  and  round  tapered  shanks  showed  to 
fine  advantage  in  their  tight-fitting  leggings 
and  moccasins  as  they  went  speeding  over  the 
ground  like  trained  racers  glorying  in  their 
strength.  We  watched  them  through  field- 
glasses  until  they  were  about  three  miles  away, 
during  which  time  they  did  not  appear  to 
slacken  their  pace  a  single  moment.  They  were 
gone  about  three  hours,  so  that  the  herd  must 
have  been  at  least  six  or  seven  miles  from  the 
huts. 

In  the  meantime  we  ate  luncheon  and  strolled 
about  the  neighborhood  looking  at  the  plants, 
at  the  views  down  the  bay,  and  at  the  interior 
of  the  huts,  etc.  We  chatted  with  the  Chukchis 
about  their  herd,  about  the  wild  sheep  on  the 
mountains,  the  wild  reindeer,  bears,  and  wolves. 

226 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

We  found  that  the  family  consisted  of  father, 
mother,  a  grown  daughter,  and  the  boys  that 
were  after  the  deer.  The  old  folks  were  evi 
dently  contented  and  happy  in  their  safe  re 
treat  among  the  hills,  with  a  sure  support  from 
their  precious  herd.  And  they  were  proud  of 
their  red-cheeked  girl  and  two  strapping  boys, 
as  well  they  might  be;  for  they  seemed  as 
healthy  and  rosy  and  robust  a  group  of  children 
as  ever  gladdened  the  heart  of  Chukchi  par 
ents.  The  boys  appeared  to  be  part  owners  of 
everything  about  the  house,  as  well  as  of  the 
deer,  for  in  looking  through  the  huts  we  saw  a 
few  curious  odds  and  ends  that  we  offered  to 
purchase,  but  were  told,  in  most  cases,  that 
they  could  not  sell  them  until  the  boys  came 
back. 

Their  huts  are  like  all  we  have  seen  belong 
ing  to  the  Chukchis  as  far  north  and  west  as  we 
have  been  —  a  balloon  frame  of  long  poles 
hewn  on  two  sides  so  that  they  might  be  bent 
outward,  the  points  coming  together  not  in  the 
middle,  but  a  little  to  one  side  away  from  the 
direction  of  the  prevailing  wind,  which  gives 
them  a  curious  humpbacked  appearance.  This 
frame  is  covered  with  skin  of  the  walrus,  if  it 
can  be  had;  if  not,  then  with  sealskin  or  deer 
skin.  No  great  pains  are  taken  to  keep  them 
rain-proof,  so  that  in  wet  weather  they  are 

227 


THE  CRUISE  OP  THE  CORWIN 

oftentimes  damp  or  muddy.  But  there  is  not 
much  rain  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  the  deer 
skin  pologs,  or  drawing  rooms  inside,  are  kept 
perfectly  dry  and  snug,  whatever  the  state  of 
the  main  outer  tent  may  chance  to  be. 

The  two  huts  of  this  place  are  smaller  and 
more  leaky  and  dilapidated  than  is  common. 
The  covering  is  composed  of  different  kinds 
of  skin,  perhaps  a  thousand  pieces  sewed  to 
gether,  some  of  them  with  the  hair  on,  the 
whole  appearing  as  one  colossal  patchwork,  as 
if  made  up  of  small  scraps.  The  head  of  the 
family  seemed  to  be  a  little  ashamed  of  them, 
for  he  explained  with  the  air  of  a  man  making 
an  apology,  that  he  did  not  construct  them; 
they  formerly  belonged  to  some  one  else,  and 
that  soon  after  he  came  to  take  possession  one 
of  them  was  torn  open  by  a  hungry  bear  that 
went  in  and  frightened  his  wife  and  daughter 
and  stole  some  grease. 

The  Chukchis  seem  to  be  a  good-natured, 
lively,  chatty,  brave  and  polite  people,  fond  of 
a  joke,  and,  as  far  as  I  have  seen,  fair  in  their 
dealings  as  any  people,  savage  or  civilized. 
They  are  not  savage  by  any  means,  however, 
but  steady,  industrious  workers,  looking  well 
ahead,  providing  for  the  future,  and  conse 
quently  seldom  in  want,  save  when  at  long 
intervals  disease  or  other  calamities  overtake 

228 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

their  herds,  or  exceptionally  severe  seasons 
prevent  their  obtaining  the  ordinary  supplies 
of  seals,  fish,  whales,  walruses,  bears,  etc.,  on 
which  the  sedentary  Chukchis  chiefly  depend. 
The  sedentary  and  reindeer  Chukchis  are  the 
same  people,  and  are  said  to  differ  in  a  marked 
degree,  both  in  physical  characteristics  and  in 
language,  from  the  neighboring  tribes,  as  they 
certainly  do  from  the  Eskimos.  Many  of  them 
have  light  complexions,  hooked  or  aquiline 
noses,  tall,  sinewy,  well-knit  frames,  small 
feet  and  hands,  and  are  not,  especially  the 
men,  so  thick-set,  short-necked  or  flat-faced 
as  the  Eskimos. 

After  we  had  watched  impatiently  for  some 
time,  the  reindeer  came  in  sight,  about  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  of  them,  driven  gently  without 
any  of  that  noisy  shouting  and  worrying  that 
are  heard  in  driving  the  domestic  animals  in 
civilized  countries.  We  left  the  huts  and  went 
up  the  stream  bank  about  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  to  meet  them,  led  by  the  owner  and  his 
wife  and  daughter,  who  carried  a  knife  and 
tin  cup  and  vessels  to  save  the  blood  and 
entrails  —  which  stirred  a  train  of  grim  asso 
ciations  that  greatly  marred  the  beauty  of  the 
picture. 

I  was  afraid  from  what  I  knew  of  the  habits 
of  sheep,  cattle,  and  horses  that  a  sight  of 

229 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

strangers  would  stampede  the  herd  when  we 
met.  But  of  this,  as  it  proved,  there  was  not  the 
slightest  danger;  for  of  all  the  familiar,  tame 
animals  man  has  gathered  about  him,  the  rein 
deer  is  the  tamest.  They  can  hardly  be  said 
to  be  domesticated,  since  they  are  not  shut  in 
around  the  huts,  or  put  under  shelter  either 
winter  or  summer.  On  they  came,  while  we 
gazed  eagerly  at  the  novel  sight  —  a  thicket 
of  antlers,  big  and  little,  old  and  young,  led 
by  the  strongest,  holding  their  heads  low  most 
of  the  time,  as  if  conscious  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  carrying  very  big,  branching  horns.  A 
straggler  fell  behind  now  and  then  to  cull  a 
choice  mouthful  of  willow  or  dainty,  gray 
lichen,  then  made  haste  to  join  the  herd  again. 
They  waded  across  the  creek  and  came 
straight  toward  us,  up  the  sloping  bank  where 
we  were  waiting,  nearer,  nearer,  until  we  could 
see  their  eyes,  their  smooth,  round  limbs,  the 
velvet  on  their  horns,  until  within  five  or  six 
yards  of  us,  the  drivers  saying  scarce  a  word, 
and  the  owner  in  front  looking  at  them  as  they 
came  up  without  making  any  call  or  movement 
to  attract  them.  After  giving  us  the  benefit  of 
their  magnificent  eyes  and  sweet  breath  they 
began  to  feed  off,  back  Up  the  valley.  There 
upon  the  boys,  who  had  been  loitering  on  the 
stream-side  to  catch  a  salmon  trout  or  two, 

230 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

went  round  them  and  drove  them  back  to  us. 
Then  the  deer  stopped  feeding  and  began  to 
chew  the  cud  and  to  lie  down,  with  eyes  partly 
closed  and  dreamy-looking,  as  if  profoundly 
comfortable,  we  strangers  causing  them  not 
the  slightest  alarm  though  standing  nearly 
within  touching  distance  of  them.  Cows  in  a 
barnyard,  milked  and  petted  every  day,  are 
not  so  gentle.  Yet  these  beautiful  animals  are 
allowed  to  feed  at  will,  without  herding  to  any 
great  extent.  They  seem  as  smooth  and  clean 
and  glossy  as  if  they  were  wild.  Taming  does 
not  seem  to  have  injured  them  in  any  way.  I 
saw  no  mark  of  man  upon  them. 

They  are  not  so  large  as  I  have  been  led  to 
suppose,  nor  so  rough  and  bony  and  angular. 
The  largest  would  not  much  exceed  three  or 
four  hundred  pounds  in  weight.  They  are,  at 
this  time  of  year,  smooth,  trim,  delicately 
molded  animals,  very  fat,  and  apparently 
short-winded,  for  they  were  breathing  hard 
when  they  came  up,  like  oxen  that  had  been 
working  on  a  hot  day.  The  horns  of  the  largest 
males  are  about  four  feet  long,  rising  with  a 
backward  curve,  and  then  forward,  and  dividing 
into  three  or  four  points,  and  with  a  number  of 
short  palmated  branches  putting  forward  and 
downward  from  the  base  over  the  animal's  fore 
head.  Those  of  the  female  are  very  slender  and 
231 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

elegant  in  curve,  more  so  than  any  horns  I  have 
seen.  This  species  of  deer  is  said  to  be  the  only 
one  in  which  the  female  has  horns.  The  fawns, 
also,  have  horns  already,  six  inches  to  a  foot 
long,  with  a  few  blunt,  knobby  branches  begin 
ning  to  sprout.  All  are.  now  in  the  velvet,  some 
of  which  is  beginning  to  peel  off  and  hang  in 
loose  shreds  about  the  heads  of  some  of  them, 
producing  a  very  singular  appearance,  as  if 
they  had  been  fighting  a  rag-bag. 

The  so-called  velvet  is  a  close,  soft,  downy 
fur,  black  in  color,  and  very  fine  and  silky, 
about  three  eighths  or  half  an  inch  long,  with 
a  few  hairs  nearly  an  inch  in  length  rising 
stiffly  here  and  there  over  the  general  plushy 
surface.  All  the  branches  of  their  horns  are 
covered,  giving  an  exceedingly  rich  and  beau 
tiful  effect.  The  eyes  are  large,  and  in  expres 
sion  confiding  and  gentle.  The  head,  contrary 
to  my  preconceived  notions  derived  from  en 
gravings,  is,  on  the  whole,  delicately  formed, 
the  muzzle  long  and  straight,  blunt  and  cowlike. 
The  neck  is  thin,  tapering  but  little,  rather 
deep,  and  held,  while  standing  at  ease,  sloping 
down  a  little,  and  the  large  males  have  long 
hair  on  the  under  side.  The  body  is  round, 
almost  cylindrical  —  the  belly  not  at  all  bloated 
or  bent  out  like  that  of  a  cow.  The  legs  are 
stout,  but  not  clumsy,  and  taper  finely  into  the 

232 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

muscles  of  the  shoulders  and  hips.  The  feet 
are  very  broad  and  spreading,  making  a  track 
about  as  large  as  a  cow's.  This  enables  the  ani 
mal  to  walk  over  boggy  tundras  in  summer  and 
over  snow  in  winter. 

In  color  they  vary  almost  as  much  in  some 
specimens  as  do  cattle  and  horses,  showing 
white,  brown,  black,  and  gray  at  the  same  time. 
The  prevailing  color  is  nearly  black  in  summer, 
brownish-white  in  winter.  The  colors  of  the 
tame  animals  are  not  so  constant  as  those  of  the 
wild.  The  hair  is,  when  full  grown,  very  heavy, 
with  fine  wool  at  the  bottom-;  thus  making  a 
warm  covering  sufficient  to  enable  the  animal 
to  resist  the  keenest  frosts  of  the  Arctic  winter 
without  any  shelter  beyond  the  lee  side  of  a 
rock  or  hill. 

After  walking  through  the  midst  of  the  herd, 
the  boys  selected  a  rather  small  specimen  to 
be  killed.  One  caught  it  by  the  hind  leg,  just 
as  sheep  are  caught,  and  dragged  it  backward 
out  of  the  herd;  then  the  other  boy  took  it  by 
the  horns  and  led  it  away  a  few  yards  from  the 
herd,  no  notice  being  taken  of  its  struggles  by 
its  companions,  nor  was  any  tendency  to  take 
fright  observed,  such  as  would,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  have  been  shown  by  any  of  the 
common  domestic  animals.  The  mother  alone 
looked  after  it  eagerly,  and  further  manifested 
233 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

her  concern  and  affection  by  uttering  a  low, 
grunting  sound,  and  by  trying  to  follow  it. 

After  it  was  slain  they  laid  it  on  its  side.  One 
of  the  women  brought  forward  a  branch  of  wil 
low  about  a  foot  long,  with  the  green  leaves  on 
it,  and  put  it  under  the  animal's  head.  Then 
she  threw  four  or  five  handfuls  of  the  blood, 
from  the  knife-wound  back  of  the  shoulder, 
out  over  the  ground  to  the  southward,  making 
me  get  out  of  the  way,  as  if  this  direction  were 
the  only  proper  one.  Next  she  took  a  cupful 
of  water  and  poured  a  little  on  its  mouth  and 
tail  and  on  the  wound.  While  this  ceremony 
was  being  performed  all  the  family  looked 
serious,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  over  they  began 
to  laugh  and  chat  as  before.  The  herd,  during 
the  time  of  the  killing  and  dressing,  were  tran 
quilly  chewing  their  cud,  not  noticing  even 
the  smell  of  the  blood,  which  makes  cattle  so 
frantic. 

One  of  our  party  was  anxious  to  procure  a 
young  one  alive  to  take  home  with  him,  but 
they  would  not  sell  one  alive  at  any  price. 
When  we  inquired  the  reason  they  said  that  if 
they  should  part  with  one,  all  the  rest  of  the 
herd  would  die,  and  the  same  thing  would  hap 
pen  if  they  were  to  part  with  the  head  of  one. 
This  they  excitedly  declared  was  true,  for  they 
had  seen  it  proved  many  times  though  white 

234 


A  SIBERIAN  REINDEER  HERD 

men  did  not  understand  it  and  always  laughed 
about  it.  When  we  indicated  a  very  large  buck 
and  inquired  why  they  did  not  kill  that  big 
one,  and  let  the  little  ones  grow,  they  replied 
that  that  big  fellow  was  strong,  and  knew  how 
to  pull  a  sled,  and  could  run  fast  over  the  snow 
that  would  come  by-and-by,  and  they  needed 
him  too  much  to  kill  him. 

I  have  never  before  seen  half  so  interesting 
a  company  of  tame  animals.  In  some  parts  of 
Siberia  reindeer  herds  numbering  many  thou 
sands  may  be  seen  together.  In  these  frozen  re 
gions  they  supply  every  want  of  their  owners 
as  no  other  animal  could  possibly  do  —  food, 
warm  clothing,  coverings  for  their  tents,  bed 
ding,  rapid  transportation  and,  to  some  extent, 
fuel.  They  are  not  nearly  so  numerous  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  bay  as  they  once 
were,  a  fact  attributed  to  the  sale  of  several 
live  specimens  to  whalers. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE 

Steamer  Corwin,  Arctic  Ocean, 

Between  Herald  Shoals  and  Point  Hope, 

September  3,  1881. 

ON  the  morning  of  August  27,  having  taken 
on  board  a  full  supply  of  coal  and  water,  and 
put  the  ship  in  as  good  condition  as  possible,  we 
left  Plover  Bay  and  turned  once  more  toward 
Wrangell  Land. 

In  passing  Marcus  Bay,  a  short  distance  up 
the  coast  from  Plover  Bay,  the  Captain  wished 
to  make  a  landing  to  give  some  instructions  to 
our  Chukchi  interpreter  and  dog-driver,  who 
lives  here,  concerning  the  dogs  and  sleds  that 
were  taken  at  Tapkan.  The  weather  was  too 
thick,  however,  to  allow  this,  and  the  ship  was 
put  on  her  course  for  the  western  Diomede 
Island,  where  we  arrived,  against  a  stiff  head 
wind  and  through  thick  fog,  shortly  after  noon 
on  the  twenty-eighth.  We  lay  at  anchor  for  a 
few  hours,  while  the  wind  from  the  Arctic  came 
dashing  and  swirling  over  the  island  in  squally 
gusts. 

In  the  meantime,  while  waiting  to  see 
whether  the  wind  would  moderate  before  we 

236 


TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE 

proceeded  through  the  strait,  we  went  ashore 
and  greatly  enjoyed  a  stroll  through  the  streets 
and  houses  of  the  curious  village  here.  It  is 
built  on  the  bald,  rugged  side  of  the  island, 
where  the  slope  is  almost  cliff-like  in  steepness 
and  rockiness.  The  winter  houses  are  wood- 
lined  burrows  underground,  entered  by  a  tun 
nel,  and  warm  and  snug  like  the  nest  of  a  field- 
mouse  beneath  a  sod,  though  terribly  thick  and 
rancid  as  to  the  air  contained  in  them.  The 
summer  houses  are  square  skin  boxes  above 
ground,  and  set  on  long  stilt  poles.  Neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  look  in  the  least  like  houses 
or  huts  of  any  sort.  But  those  made  of  skin  are 
the  queerest  human  nests  conceivable.  They 
are  simply  light,  square  frames  made  of  drift 
poles  gathered  on  the  beach,  and  covered  with 
walrus  hide  that  has  been  carefully  dressed 
and  stretched  tightly  on  the  frame  like  the 
head  of  a  drum.  The  skin  is  of  a  yellow  color, 
and  quite  translucent,  so  that  when  in  one  feels 
as  if  one  were  inside  a  huge  blown  bladder,  the 
light  sifting  in  through  the  skin  at  the  top  and 
all  around,  yellow  as  a  sunset.  The  entire  es 
tablishment  is  window,  one  pane  for  the  roof, 
which  is  also  the  ceiling,  and  one  for  each  of 
the  four  sides,  without  cross  sash-bars  to  mar 
the  brave  simplicity  of  it  all. 
Most  of  the  inhabitants,  of  whom  there  are 

237 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

perhaps  a  hundred,  had  just  returned  from  a 
long  voyage  in  their  canoes  to  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales,  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  other  points  on 
the  American  coast,  for  purposes  of  trade, 
bringing  back  ivory  and  furs  to  sell  to  the  Chuk- 
chis  of  Siberia,  who  in  turn  will  carry  these 
articles  by  a  roundabout  way  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  to  the  Russian  trading  post,  and  return 
with  goods  to  trade  back  to  the  Diomede  mer 
chants,  through  whose  hands  they  will  pass  to 
the  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  natives,  and  from 
these  to  several  others  up  the  Inland  River, 
down  the  Colville,  to  Point  Barrow  and  east 
ward  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie 
River. 

The  Diomede  merchants  are  true  middlemen, 
and  their  village  a  half-way  house  of  commerce 
between  northeastern  Asia  and  America.  The 
extent  of  the  dealings  of  these  people,  usually 
regarded  as  savages,  is  truly  surprising.  And 
that  they  can  keep  warm  and  make  a  living 
on  this  bleak,  fog-smothered,  storm-beaten 
rock,  and  have  time  to  beget,  feed,  and  train 
children,  and  give  them  a  good  Eskimo  educa 
tion;  that  they  teach  them  to  shoot  the  bow, 
to  make  and  throw  the  bird  spears,  to  make  and 
use  those  marvelous  kayaks,  to  kill  seals,  bears, 
and  walrus,  to  hunt  the  whale,  capture  the 
different  kind  of  fishes,  manufacture  different 

238 


TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE 

sorts  of  leather,  dress  skins  and  make  them 
into  clothing,  besides  teaching  them  to  carry  on 
trade,  to  make  fire  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of 
wood  together,  and  to  build  the  strange  houses 
—  that  they  can  do  all  this,  and  still  have  time 
to  be  sociable,  to  dance,  sing,  gossip,  and  dis 
cuss  ghosts,  spirits,  and  all  the  nerve-racking 
marvels  of  the  shaman  world,  shows  how  truly 
wild,  and  brave,  and  capable  a  people  these 
island  Eskimos  are. 

The  wind  having  moderated,  we  got  away 
from  the  box-and-burrow  village  and  through 
the  Strait  before  dark;  then  we  steered  for 
the  south  end  of  Wrangell  Land,  and  after  a 
speedy  and  uneventful  voyage  came  in  sight 
of  the  highest  of  the  coast  mountains,  on  the 
thirtieth  at  noon.  Thus  far  we  had  not  seen  the 
ice,  and,  inasmuch  as  nineteen  summer  days 
had  passed  over  it  since  our  last  visit,  we  hoped 
that  it  might  have  been  melted  considerably 
and  broken  up  by  the  winds,  so  as  to  admit  of 
a  way  being  forced  through  it  at  some  point  up 
to  the  land,  or  so  near  it  that  we  might  get 
ashore  by  crossing  over  the  coast  ice,  dragging 
our  light  skin  boat  after  us  in  case  we  should 
come  to  lanes  of  open  water. 

In  this,  however,  we  were  disappointed;  for 
when  three  and  a  half  hours  later  we  came  up 
to  the  edge  of  the  pack  it  was  found  to  all  ap- 

239 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

pearances  unchanged.  It  still  extended  about 
twenty  miles  offshore;  it  trended  as  far  as  we 
could  see  in  the  same  direction  as  was  observed 
before,  and  it  seemed  as  heavy  and  unbroken 
as  ever,  offering  no  encouragement  for  efforts 
in  this  direction.  We  therefore  sailed  along  the 
edge  of  the  pack  to  the  eastward  to  see  what 
might  be  accomplished  towards  our  first  land 
ing  place.  We  gazed  at  the  long  stretch  of 
wilderness  which  spread  invitingly  before  us, 
and  which  we  were  so  eager  to  explore  —  the 
rounded,  glaciated  bosses  and  foothills,  the 
mountains,  with  ice-sculptured  features  of  hol 
lows  and  ridges  and  long  withdrawing  valleys, 
which  in  former  visits  we  had  sketched,  and 
scanned  so  attentively  through  field-glasses, 
and  which  now  began  to  wear  a  familiar  look. 
The  sky  was  overcast,  the  land  seemed  almost 
black  in  the  glqomy  light,  and  a  heavy  swell  be 
gan  to  be  felt  coming  in  from  the  northeast. 
Towards  night,  when  we  were  not  far  from  our 
old  landing  near  the  easternmost  extremity  of 
the  land,  the  Corwin  was  hove  to,  waiting  for 
the  morning  before  attempting  to  seek  a  way 
in.  But  the  next  day,  August  31,  was  stormy. 
The  wind  from  the  northeast  blew  hard  inshore, 
therefore  it  was  not  considered  safe  to  approach 
too  near. 
At  eight  o'clock  we  were  in  sight  of  the  ice 

240 


TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE 

opposite  the  northeast  cape,  and  it  seemed  to 
be  farther  off  the  land  than  at  our  first  visit, 
and  no  opening  appeared,  though  the  weather 
was  so  dim  and  rough  that  nothing  could  be 
definitely  determined.  Generally,  however,  the 
ice  was  now  drifting  against  the  east  side  of 
Wrangell  Land,  and  coming  southward  to  so 
great  an  extent  that  our  chances  of  effecting 
another  landing  began  to  be  less  promising. 

When  we  were  within  twenty  miles  of  Herald 
Island,  we  hove  to,  waiting  better  weather  be 
fore  entering  narrow  lanes  and  bays  in  the  pack 
when  so  heavy  a  sea  was  running.  The  sky  was 
dismal  all  the  afternoon  —  toward  night,  dull, 
lurid  purple  —  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale. 
The  ice-breaker,  made  of  heavy  boiler  iron,  was 
broken  by  the  pounding  of  the  waves,  and  had 
to  be  cut  away,  which  is  unfortunate  at  this 
particular  time.  • 

September  1  was  a  howling  storm-day, 
through  which  we  lay  to,  swashing  and  rolling 
wildly  among  white  waves,  and  drifting  south 
eastward  twenty  or  thirty  miles  a  day.  The 
next  day  there  was  no  "abatement  hi  the  force 
of  the  gale  up  to  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
A  heavy  sea,  streaked  with  foam,  was  running 
parallel  to  the  direction  of  the  winci,  while  the 
air  was  filled  with  snow,  adding  to  the  wintry 
aspect  of  the  day.  While  we  were  still  holding 

•        241 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

on,  hoping  the  storm  would  subside  from  hour 
to  hour,  one  of  the  rudder  chains  parted. 

This  made  Captain  Hooper  decide  that  in 
view  of  the  condition  of  the  ship,  and  the  ice, 
and  the  weather,  the  risk  attending  further 
efforts  this  year  to  search  the  shores  of  Wrangell 
Land  should  not  be  incurred,  more  especially 
since  the  position  and  drift  of  the  ice  held  out 
but  little  promise  of  allowing  another  landing 
to  be  made,  or  of  a  sufficiently  near  approach 
to  enable  us  to  add  appreciably  to  the  knowl 
edge  already  acquired.  Accordingly,  after  the 
rudder  was  mended  as  securely  as  possible,  the 
good  Corwin,  excused  from  further  ice  duty, 
was  turned  away  from  the  war  and  headed  for 
the  American  coast  at  Point  Hope. 

Had  the  ship  been  in  good  condition,  the 
battle  would  probably  have  been  waged  a  few 
more  weeks  along  the  edge  of  the  ice  barrier, 
watching  the  appearance  of  any  vulnerable 
point  of  attack,  whatever  the  result  might  have 
been.  Now  it  seems  we  are  homeward  bound. 
We  intend  to  stop  at  Kotzebue  Sound,  St. 
Michael,  St.  Paul,  and  Unalaska  to  make  nec 
essary  repairs,  take  on  coal,  etc.,  and  we  may 
reach  San  Francisco  by  the  middle  of  October. 

We  have  hot  met  the  Rodgers.  We  learned 
from  the  natives  at  Plover  Bay  that  she  had 
called  there  and  left  seven  days  before  our 

242        • 


TURNED  BACK  BY  STORMS  AND  ICE 

arrival.  That  was  August  17.  We  suppose  she 
went  to  St.  Michael  from  there  to  coal  and  take 
on  provisions,  which  would  probably  require 
a  week.  If  so,  we  may  have  passed  the  Strait 
ahead  of  her.  But  in  case  she  had  already  been 
at  St.  Michael,  then,  in  following  out  her  in 
structions,  she  could  trace  the  Siberian  coast 
for  some  distance,  making  inquiries  among  the 
Chukchis,  where  she  may  possibly  be  at  present. 
Or,  it  this  part  of  the  work  of  the  expedition 
had  been  completed  before  the  coming  on  of 
the  gale,  she  may  be  sheltering  about  Herald 
Island  or  some  point  on  the  coast  of  Wrangell 
Land.1 

1  Mr.  Muir's  supposition  proved  to  be  correct.  The  U.S.S. 
Rodgers,  Lieutenant  R.  M.  Berry  commanding,  reached 
Wrangell  Land,  August  25,  and  found  shelter  the  next  day 
in  a  snug  little  harbor  on  the  southeastern  coast  of  the 
island.  There  the  Rodgers  remained  until  September  13, 
while  two  search  parties  explored  the  shores  of  the  island  for 
traces  of  the  Jeannette  expedition. 


CHAPTER  XX 

HOMEWARD-BOUND 

Steamer  Carwin, 
Unalaska,  October  4,  1881. 

ON  the  home  voyage,  all  the  hard  Arctic 
work  done,  the  Corwin  stopped  a  week  at  the 
head  of  Kotzebue  Sound,  near  Chamisso  Island, 
to  seek  a  fresh  supply  of  water  and  make  some 
needful  repairs  and  observations,  during  which 
time  I  had  a  capital  opportunity  to  examine 
the  curious  and  interesting  ice  formations  of 
the  shores  of  Eschscholtz  Bay.  I  found  ice  in 
some  form  or  other,  exposed  at  intervals  of 
from  a  mile  to  a  few  yards,  on  the  tide-washed 
front  of  the  shore  bluffs  on  both  sides  of  the 
bay,  a  distance  of  about  fifty  miles.  But  it 
is  only  the  most  conspicuous  mass,  forming  a 
bluff,  at  Elephant  Point,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  bay,  that  seems  to  have  been  observed 
hitherto,  or  attracted  much  attention. 

This  Elephant  Point,  so  called  from  the  fossil 
elephant  tusks  found  here,  is  a  bluff  of  solid 
ice,  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  high,  covered 
on  the  top  with  a  foot  or  two  of  ordinary 
tundra  vegetation,  and  with  tall  grass  on  the 
terraces  and  shelving  portions  of  the  front, 
244 


HOMEWARD-BOUND 

wherever  the  slope  is  sufficiently  gentle  for  soil 
to  find  rest.  It  is  a  rigid  fossil  fragment  of  a 
glacier  leaning  back  against  the  north  side  of 
a  hill,  mostly  in  shadow,  and  covered  lightly 
with  glacial  detritus  from  the  hill  slope  above 
it,  over  which  the  tundra  vegetation  has 
gradually  been  extended,  and  which  eventually 
formed  a  thick  feltlike  protection  against  waste 
during  the  summer.  Thus  it  has  lasted  until 
now,  wasting  only  on  the  exposed  face  front 
ing  the  bay,  which  is  being  constantly  under 
mined,  the  soil  and  vegetation  on  top  being 
precipitated  over  the  raw,  melting  ice  front 
and  washed  away  by  the  tide.  Were  it  not 
that  its  base  is  swept  by  tide  currents,  the 
accumulation  of  tundra  moss  and  peat  would 
finally  re-bury  the  front  and  check  further 
waste.  As  it  is,  the  formation  will  not  last 
much  longer  —  probably  not  more  than  a 
thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  years.  Its  present 
age  is  perhaps  more  than  this. 

When  one  walks  along  the  base  of  the  forma 
tion  —  which  is  about  a  mile  or  so  in  length  — 
making  one's,  way  over  piles  of  rotten  humus 
and  through  sloppy  bog  mud  of  the  consistence 
of  watery  porridge,  mixed  with  bones  of  ele 
phants,  buffaloes,  musk  oxen,  etc.,  the  ice  so 
closely  resembles  the  wasting  snout  of  a  glacier, 
with  its  jagged  projecting  ridges,  ledges,  and 

245 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

small,  dripping,  tinkling  rills,  that  it  is  not  easy 
to  realize  that  it  is  not  one  in  ordinary  action. 

Mingled  with  the  true  glacier  ice  we  notice 
masses  of  dirty  stratified  ice,  made  up  of  clean 
layers  alternating  with  layers  of  mud  and  sand, 
and  mingled  with  bits  of  humus  and  sphagnum, 
and  of  leaves  and  stems  of  the  various  plants 
that  grow  on  the  tundra  above.  This  dirty  ice 
of  peculiar  stratification  never  blends  into  the 
glacier  ice,  but  is  simply  frozen  upon  it,  filling 
cavities  or  spreading  over  slopes  here  and  there. 
It  is  formed  by  the  freezing  of  films  of  clear  and 
dirty  water  from  the  broken  edge  of  the  tun 
dra,  a  process  going  on  every  spring  and  au 
tumn,  when  frosts  and  thaws  succeed  each 
other  night  and  morning,  cloudy  days  and 
sunny  days.  This,  of  course,  is  of  compara 
tively  recent  age,  even  the  oldest  of  it. 

A  striking  result  of  the  shaking  up  and  airing 
and  draining  of  the  tundra  soil  is  seen  on  the 
face  of  the  ice  slopes  and  terraces.  When  the 
undermined  tundra  material  rolls  down  upon 
those  portions  of  the  ice  front  where  it  can  come 
to  rest,  it  is  well  buffeted  and  shaken,  and  fre 
quently  lies  upside  down  as  if  turned  with  a 
plow.  Here  it  is  well  drained  through  resting 
on  melting  ice,  and  though  not  more  than  a 
foot  or  two  in  thickness,  it  produces  a  remark 
ably  close  and  tall  growth  of  grass,  four  to  six 

246 


HOMEWARD-BOUND 

feet  high,  and  as  lush  and  broad-leaved  as  may 
be  found  in  any  farmer's  field.  Cut  for  hay  it 
would  make  about  four  or  five  tons  per  acre. 

Only  a  few  other  plants  that  would  be  called 
weeds  are  found  growing  among  the  grass, 
mostly  senecio  and  artemisia,  both  tall  and 
exuberant,  showing  the  effects  of  this  curious 
system  of  cultivation  on  this  strange  soil.  The 
vegetation  on  top  of  the  bluff  is  the  most  beau 
tiful  that  I  have  yet  seen,  not  rank  and  culti 
vated  looking,  like  that  on  the  face  slopes, 
but  showing  the  finest  and  most  delicate  beauty 
of  wildness,  in  forms,  combinations,  and  colors 
of  leaf,  stalk,  and  fruit.  There  were  red  and 
yellow  dwarf  birch,  arbutus,  willow,  and  pur 
ple  huckleberry,  with  lovely  grays  of  sedges 
and  lichens.  The  neutral  tints  of  the  lichens 
are  intensely  beautiful. 

I  found  the  shore-bluff  towards  the  mouth 
of  the  Buckland  River  from  forty  to  sixty  feet 
high,  with  a  regular  slope  of  about  thirty  de 
grees.  It  was  covered  with  willows  and  alders, 
some  of  them  five  or  six  feet  high,  and  long 
grass;  also  patches  of  ice  here  and  there,  but 
no  large  masses.  The  soil  is  a  fine  blue  clay  at 
bottom,  with  water-worn  quartz,  pebbles  and 
sand  above  it,  like  that  of  the  opposite  side  of 
the  estuary,  and  evidently  brought  down  by 
the  river  floods  when  the  ice  of  the  glaciers 

247 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

that  occupied  this  river  basin  and  that  of  the 
Kuuk  x  was  melting. 

The  ice  that  I  found  here  and  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay,  especially  where  the  tundra  is 
low  and  flat,  let  us  say  forty  or  fifty  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  covered  with  pools  and  strips  of 
water,  is  not  glacier  ice,  but  ice  derived  from 
water  freezing  in  pools  and  veins  and  hollows, 
overgrown  with  mosses,  lichens,  etc.,  and  after 
wards  exposed  as  fossil  ice  on  the  shore  face 
of  the  tundra  where  it  is  being  wasted  by  the 
action  of  the  sea.  The  tundra  has  been  cracked 
in  every  direction,  and  in  looking  over  its  sur 
face,  slight  depressions,  or  some  difference  in 
the  vegetation,  indicate  the  location  and  extent 
of  the  fissures.  When  these  are  traced  forward 
to  the  edge  of  the  shore-bluff,  a  cross-section  of 
ice  is  seen  from  two  to  four  or  five  feet  wide. 
The  larger  sections  are  simply  the  exposed  sides 
of  those  ice  veins  that  chance  to  trend  in  a  di 
rection  parallel  to  the  face  of  the  bluff.  Be 
sides  these  I  found  several  other  kinds  of  ice, 
differing  in  origin  from  the  foregoing,  but  which 
can  hardly  be  described  in  a  mere  letter,  how 
ever  interesting  to  the  geologist. 

At  St.  Michael  we  found  a  party  of  wrecked 

1  A  river  tributary  to  Eschscholtz  Bay  from  the  east, 
It  was  called  Kuuk  on  British  Admiralty  charts  of  the  early 
eighties,  but  is  now  known  as  the  Mungoark  River. 

248 


HOMEWARD-BOUND 

prospectors  from  Golofnin  Bay,  who  were 
anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Corwin, 
as  she  would  be  the  last  vessel  leaving  for  Cali 
fornia  this  year.  This  proved  to  be  the  Oakland 
party  mentioned  in  a  previous  letter.  With 
genuine  Yankee  enterprise  [these  men]  had 
pushed  their  way  into  the  far  wilderness  be 
yond  the  Yukon  to  seek  for  silver.  Specimens 
of  bright,  exciting  ore,  assaying  a  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  to  the  ton,  had  been  exhibited  in 
Oakland,  brought  from  a  mine  said  to  be  lo 
cated  near  tide  water  at  Golofnin  Bay,  Alaska, 
and  so  easily  worked  that  large  ships  could  be 
loaded  with  the  precious  ore  about  as  readily 
as  with  common  ballast.  Thereupon  a  com 
pany,  called  the  Alaska  Mining  Company,  was 
organized,  the  schooner  W.  F.  March  char 
tered,  and  with  the  necessary  supplies  a  party 
of  ten  sailed  from  San  Francisco  May  5,  1881, 
for  Golofnin  Bay,  to  explore  this  mine  in  par 
ticular,  and  the  region  in  general,  and  then  to 
return,  this  fall,  with  a  cargo  of  ore. 

They  arrived  in  Golofnin  Bay  June  18,  lost 
their  vessel  in  a  gale  on  the  north  side  of  the 
bay  August  15,  and  arrived  in  twenty-one  days 
at  St.  Michael  in  canoes  and  a  boat  that  was 
saved  from  the  wreck.  They  found  the  mine 
as  rich  as  represented,  but  far  less  accessible. 
It  is  said  to  be  about  thirty  miles  from  tide 

249 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

water.  All  feel  confident  that  they  have  a  val 
uable  mine.  Two  or  three  of  the  party  were 
away  at  the  time  of  the  disaster,  prospecting 
for  cinnabar  on  the  Kuskoquim,  and  are  left 
behind  to  pass  the  winter  as  best  they  may  at 
some  of  the  trading  stations. 

Our  two  weeks'  stay  at  Unalaska  has  been 
pleasant  and  restful  after  the  long  cruise  — 
about  fourteen  thousand  miles  altogether  up 
to  this  point.  The  hill  slopes  and  mountains 
look  richly  green  and  foodful,  and  the  views 
about  the  harbor,  at  the  close  and  beginning 
of  storms,  when  clouds  are  wreathing  the  al 
pine  summits,  are  very  beautiful. 

The  huts  of  the  Aleuts  here  are  very  pictur 
esque  at  this  time  of  the  year.  The  grass  grows 
tall  over  the  sides  and  the  roof,  waving  in  the 
wind,  and  making  a  fine  fringe  about  the  win 
dows  and  the  door.  When  the  church  bell  rings 
on  Sunday  and  the  good  calico-covered  people 
plod  sedately  forth  to  worship,  and  the  cows 
on  the  hillside  moo  blandly,  and  the  sun  shines 
over  the  green  slopes,  then  the  scene  is  like  a 
bit  of  New  England  or  old  Scotland.  But,  later 
in  the  day,  when  the  fiery  kvass  is  drunk,  and 
the  accordions  and  concertinas  and  cheap  music 
boxes  are  in  full  blast,  then  the  noise  and  un 
seemly  clang  attending  drunkenness  is  not  at 
all  like  a  Scotch  sabbath. 

250 


HOMEWARD-BOUND 

Most  of  the  Aleuts  have  an  admixture  of 
Russian  blood.  Many  of  them  dance  well. 
Three  balls  were  given 'during  our  stay  here, 
that  is  to  say,  American  balls  with  native 
women.  The  Aleuts  have  their  own  dances  in 
their  small  huts. 

A  few  days  ago  I  made  an  excursion  to  the 
top  of  a  well-formed  volcanic  cone  at  the  mouth 
of  a  picturesque  glacial  fiord,  about  eight  miles 
from  here.  This  mountain,  about  two  thousand 
feet  high,  commands  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
mountains  of  Unalaska,  Akutan,  and  adjacent 
islands.  Akutan  :  still  emits  black  smoke  and 
cinders  at  times,  and  thunders  loud  enough  to 
be  heard  at  Unalaska. 

The  noblest  of  them  all  was  Makushin,2  about 
nine  thousand  feet  high  and  laden  with  glaciers, 
a  grand  sight,  far  surpassing  what  I  had  been 
led  to  expect.  There  is  a  spot  on  its  summit 
which  is  said  to  smoke,  probably  mostly  steam 
and  vapor  from  the  infiltration  of  water  into 
the  heated  cavities  of  the  old  volcano.  The 
extreme  summit  of  Makushin  was  wrapped  in 
white  clouds,  and  from  beneath  these  the  gla 
ciers  were  seen  descending  impressively  into 
the  sunshine  to  within  a  thousand  or  fifteen 

1  The  highest  mountain  of  Akutan  Island.   The  United 
States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Chart  No.  8860  gives  its 
altitude  as  forty-one  hundred  feet. 

2  See  footnote  p.  253. 

251 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN 

hundred  feet  of  sea-level.  This  fine  mountain, 
glittering  in  its  showy  mail  of  snow  and  ice,  to 
gether  with  a  hundred 'other  peaks  dipping  into 
the  blue  sky,  and  every  one  of  them  telling  the 
work  of  ice  or  fire  in  their  forms  and  sculpture 
—  these,  and  the  sparkling  sea,  and  long  in- 
reaching  fiords,  are  a  noble  picture  to  add  to 
the  thousand  others  which  have  enriched  our 
lives  this  summer  in  the  great  Northland. 


THE  END 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


THE  GLACIATION  OF  THE  ARCTIC  AND  SUB 
ARCTIC  REGIONS  VISITED  DURING 
THE  CRUISE 

THE  monuments  of  the  glaciation  of  the  regions 
about  Bering  Sea  and  the  northern  shores  of  Sibe 
ria  and  Alaska  are  in  general  much  broken  and 
obscured  on  account  of  the  intensity  of  the  action  of 
the  agents  of  destruction  in  these  low,  moist  regions, 
together  with  the  perishable  character  of  the  rocks 
of  which  most  of  the  monuments  consist.  Lofty 
headlands,  once  covered  with  clear  glacial  inscrip 
tions,  have  been  undermined  and  cast  down  in  loose, 
draggled  taluses,  while  others,  in  a  dim,  ruinous  con 
dition,  with  most  of  their  surface  records  effaced, 
are  rapidly  giving  way  to  the  weather.  The  mo 
raines,  also,  and  the  grooved,  scratched,  and  pol 
ished  surfaces  are  much  blurred  and  wasted,  while 
glaciated  areas  of  great  extent  are  not  open  to  ob 
servation  at  all,  being  covered  by  the  shallow 
waters  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and 
buried  beneath  sediments  and  coarse  detritus  which 
has  been  weathered  from  the  higher  grounds,  or 
deposited  by  the  ice  itself  when  it  was  being 
melted  and  withdrawn  towards  the  close  of  the 
main  glacial  period.  But  amid  this  general  waste 
and  obscurity  a  few  legible  fragments,  favorably 
255 


APPENDIX 

situated  here  and  there,  have  escaped  destruction 
—  patches  of  polished  and  striated  surfaces  in  a 
fair  state  of  preservation,  with  moraines  of  local 
glaciers  that  have  not  been  exposed  to  the  heavier 
forms  of  water  or  avalanche  action.  And  had 
these  fading  vestiges  perished  altogether,  yet  would 
not  the  observer  be  left  without  a  sure  guide, 
for  there  are  other  monuments  of  ice  action  in  all 
glaciated  regions  that  are  almost  indestructible, 
enduring  for  tens  of  thousands  of  years  after  those 
simpler  traces  that  we  have  been  considering  have 
vanished.  These  are  the  material  of  moraines, 
though  scattered,  washed,  crumbled,  and  re-formed 
over  and  over  again;  and  the  sculpture  and  config 
uration  of  the  landscape  in  general,  canons,  valleys, 
mountains,  ridges,  roches  moutonnees  with  forms 
and  correlations  specifically  glacial.  These,  also,  it 
is  true,  suffer  incessant  waste,  being  constantly 
written  upon  by  other  agents;  yet,  because  the 
glacial  characters  are  formed  on  so  colossal  a  scale 
of  magnitude,  they  continue  to  stand  out  free  and 
clear  through  every  after  inscription  whether  of  the 
torrent,  the  avalanche,  or  universal  eroding  atmos 
phere;  opening  grand  and  comprehensive  yiews  of 
the  vanished  ice,  and  the  geographical  and  topo 
graphical  changes  effected  by  its  action  in  the  form 
of  local  and  distinct  glaciers.  River-like,  they  flowed 
from  the  mountains  to  the  sea,  and,  as  a  broad,  un 
dulating  mantle,  crawled  over  all  the  landscape 
through  unnumbered  centuries;  crushed  and  ground 
and  spread  soil-beds;  fashioned  the  features  of 
mountain  and  plain;  extended  the  domain  of  the 
sea;  separated  continents;  dotted  new  coasts  with 
islands,  fringed  them  with  deep  inreaching  fiords, 
256 


APPENDIX 

and  impressed  their  peculiar  style  of  sculpture  on 
all  the  regions  over  which  they  passed. 

A  general  exploration  of  the  mountain  ranges  of 
the  Pacific  Coast  shows  that  there  are  about  sixty- 
five  small  residual  glaciers  on  the  Sierra  Nevada  of 
California,  between  latitude  36°  30'  and  39°,  distrib 
uted  singly  or  in  small  groups  on  the  north  sides  of 
the  highest  peaks  at  an  elevation  of  about  eleven 
to  twelve  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
representatives  of  the  grand  glaciers  that  once 
covered  all  the  range.  More  than  two  thirds  of 
these  lie  between  latitude  37°  and  38°,  and  form 
the  highest  sources  of  the  San  Joaquin,  Tuolumne, 
Merced,  and  Owens  Rivers. 

Mount  Shasta,  near  the  northern  boundary  of 
California,  has  a  few  shrinking  glacier  remnants, 
the  largest  about  three  miles  in  length.  We  find  that, 
to  the  north  of  California,  groups  of  active  glaciers 
still  exist  on  all  the  highest  mountains  —  Mounts 
Jefferson,  Adams,  Saint  Helens,  Hood,  Rainier, 
Baker,  and  others.  Of  these  Mount  Rainier  is  the 
highest  and  iciest.  Its  summit  is  fairly  capped  with 
ice,  and  eight  glaciers,  from  seven  to  fifteen  miles 
long,  radiate  from  it  as  a  center  and  form  the  sources 
of  the  principal  streams.  The  lowest  descends  to 
about  thirty-five  hundred  feet  above  sea  level,  pour 
ing  a  stream  opaque  with  glacial  mud  into  the  head 
of  Puget  Sound. 

On  through  British  Columbia  and  southeastern 
Alaska  the  broad  sustained  mountain  chain  extend 
ing  along  the  coast  is  generally  glacier-bearing.  The 
upper  branches  of  nearly  every  one  of  the  main 
canons  are  occupied  by  glaciers,  which  gradually 
increase  in  size  and  descend  lower  until  the  lofty 
257 


region  between  Mount  Fairweather  and  Mount  St. 
Elias  is  reached,  where  a  considerable  number  dis 
charge  into  the  waters  of  the  ocean. 

This  is  the  region  of  greatest  glacial  abundance 
on  the  continent.  To  the  northward  from  here  the 
glaciers  gradually  diminish  in  size  and  depth  and 
melt  at  higher  levels  until  the  latitude  of  about 
62°  is  reached,  beyond  which  few,  if  any,  glaciers 
remain  in  existence,  the  ground  being  comparatively 
low  and  the  annual  snowfall  light. 

Between  latitude  56°  and  60°  there  are  prob 
ably  more  than  five  thousand  glaciers,  great  and 
small,  hundreds  of  the  largest  size,  descending 
through  the  forests  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea, 
though,  as  far  as  I  know  after  a  pretty  thorough 
exploration  of  the  region,  not  more  than  twenty-five 
discharge  into  the  sea. 

All  the  long,  high-walled  fiords  into  which  these 
great  glaciers  of  the  first  class  flow  are  of  course 
crowded  with  icebergs  of  every  conceivable  form, 
which  are  detached  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes. 
But  these  are  small  as  compared  with  those  of 
Greenland,  and  only  a  few  escape  from  the  intricate 
labyrinth  of  channels,  with  which  this  portion  of 
the  coast  is  fringed,  into  the  open  sea.  Nearly  all 
of  them  are  washed  and  drifted  back  and  forth  in 
the  fiords  by  wind  and  tide  until  finally  melted  by 
sunshine  and  the  copious  warm  rains  of  summer. 

The  southmost  of  the  glaciers  that  reach  the  sea 
occupies  a  narrow  fiord  about  twenty  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  the  mouth  of  the  Stikine  River,  in  lati 
tude  56°  50'.  It.  is  called  "Hutli"  xby  the  natives, 

1  Now  known  as  Le  Conte  Glacier;  also  the  Bay  into  which  it  dis 
charges.  Both  were  so  named  in  1887  by  Lieutenant-Commander  Charles 

258 


Q 

W 

at 
M 

o 
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£  < 


APPENDIX 

from  the  noise  made  by  the  icebergs  in  rising  and 
falling  from  the  inflowing  glacier.  About  one  de 
gree  farther  north  there  are  four  of  these  complete 
glaciers  at  the  heads  of  branches  of  Holkham  Bay, 
at  the  head  of  Taku  Inlet  one,  and  at  the  head  and 
around  the  sides  of  a  bay 1  trending  in  a  general 
northerly  direction  from  Cross  Sound,  first  explored 
by  myself  in  1879,  there  are  no  less  than  five  of  these 
complete  glaciers  reaching  tide-water,  the  largest 
of  which,  the  Muir,  is  of  colossal  size,  having  up 
wards  of  two  hundred  tributaries  and  a  width  of 
trunk  below  the  confluence  of  the  main  tributaries 
of  three  to  twenty-five  miles.  Between  the  west  side 
of  this  icy  bay  and  the  ocean  all  the  ground,  high  and 
low,  with  the  exception  of  the  summits  of  the  moun 
tain  peaks,  is  covered  by  a  mantle  of  ice  from  one 
to  three  thousand  feet  thick,  which  discharges  to 
the  eastward  and  westward  through  many  distinct 
mouths. 

This  ice-sheet,  together  with  the  multitude  of  dis 
tinct  glaciers  that  load  the  lofty  mountains  of  the 
coast,  evidently  once  formed  part  of  one  grand,  con 
tinuous  ice-sheet  that  flowed  over  all  the  region  here 
abouts,  extending  southward  as  far  as  the  Straits 
of  Juan  de  Fuca,  for  all  the  islands  of  the  Alexander 
Archipelago,  great  and  small,  as  well  as  the  head 
lands  and  promontories  of  the  mainland,  are  seen 
to  have  forms  of  greatest  strength  with  reference 
to  the  action  of  a  vast  press  of  oversweeping  ice,  and 
their  surfaces  have  a  smooth,  rounded,  over-rubbed 

M.  Thomas,  U.S.N.,  presumably  in  honor  of  Joseph  Le  Conte,  the  well- 
known  California  geologist.    "Hutli"  is  the  Tlingit  Indian  name  for  the 
mythical  bird  which  produces  thunder  by  the  flapping  of  its  wings.   The 
word,  therefore,  means  "  The  Thunderer." 
1  Now  known  as  Glacier  Bay. 

259 


APPENDIX 

appearance,  generally  free  from  angles.  The  canals, 
channels,  straits,  passages,  sounds,  etc.,  between  the 
islands  — a  marvelous  labyrinth  —  manifest  in  their 
forms  and  trends  and  general  characteristics  the 
same  subordination  to  the  grinding  action  of  a  con 
tinuous  ice-sheet,  and  they  differ  from  the  islands, 
as  to  their  origin,  only  in  being  portions  of  the 
general  pre-glacial  margin  of  the  continent,  more 
deeply  eroded,  and,  therefore,  covered  with  the 
ocean  waters  which  flowed  into  them  as  the  ice 
was  melted  out  of  them. 

That  the  dominion  of  the  sea  is  being  extended 
over  the  land  by  the  wearing  away  of  its  shores  is 
well  known.  But  in  these  northern  regions  the  coast 
rocks  have  been  so  short  a  time  exposed  to  wave- 
action  that  they  are  but  little  wasted  as  yet,  the 
extension  of  the  sea  affected  by  its  own  action  in 
post-glacial  time  in  this  region  being  probably  less 
than  the  millionth  part  of  that  affected  by  glacial 
action  during  the  last  glacial  period. 

Traces  of  the  ancient  glaciers  made  during  the 
period  of  greater  extension  abound  on  the  California 
Sierra  as  far  south  as  latitude  36°.  Even  the  most 
evanescent  of  them,  the  polished  surfaces,  are  still 
found,  in  a  marvelously  perfect  state  of  preserva 
tion,  on  the  upper  half  of  the  middle  portion  of 
the  range.  They  occur  in  irregular  patches,  some 
of  which  are  several  acres  in  extent,  and,  though 
they  have  been  subjected  to  the  weather  with  all 
its  storms  for  thousands  of  years,  their  mechanical 
excellence  is  such  that  they  reflect  the  sunbeams 
like  glass,  and  attract  the  attention  of  every  ob 
server. 

The  most  perfect  of  these  shining  pavements  lie 
260 


APPENDIX 

at  an  elevation  of  about  seven  to  eight  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  where  the  rock  is 
close-grained,  siliceous  granite.  Small  fading  patches 
may  be  found  at  from  three  to  five  thousand  feet 
elevation  on  the  driest  and  most  enduring  portions 
of  vertical  walls,  where  there  is  protection  from  the 
drip  and  friction  of  water;  also,  on  compact  swell 
ing  bosses  partially  protected  by  a  covering  of 
boulders. 

On  the  north  half  of  the  Sierra  the  striated  and 
polished  surfaces  are  rarely  found,  not  only  because 
this  portion  of  the  chain  is  lower,  but  on  account 
of  the  surface  rocks  being  chiefly  porous  lavas  sub 
ject  to  rapid  waste.  The  moraines,  also,  though  well 
preserved  on  the  south  half  of  the  range,  seem  to  be 
nearly  wanting  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
north  half,  but  the  material  of  which  they  were  com 
posed  is  found  in  abundance,  scattered  and  disin 
tegrated,  until  its  glacial  origin  is  not  obvious  to 
the  unskilled  observer. 

A  similar  blurred  condition  of  the  superficial  rec 
ords  obtains  throughout  most  of  Oregon,  Washing 
ton,  British  Columbia,  and  Alaska,  due  in  great 
part  to  the  action  of  excessive  moisture.  Even  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  where  the  most  extensive 
glaciers  still  exist,  the  more  evanescent  of  the  traces 
of  their  former  greater  extension,  though  compara 
tively  recent,  are  more  obscure  than  those  of  the 
ancient  glaciers  of  California,  where  the  climate  is 
drier  and  the  rocks  more  resisting.  We  are  prepared, 
therefore,  to  find  the  finer  lines  of  the  glacial  record 
dim  or  obliterated  altogether  in  the  Arctic  regions, 
where  the  ground  is  mostly  low  and  the  action  of 
frost  and  moisture  specially  destructive. 
261 


APPENDIX 

The  Aleutian  chain  of  islands  sweeps  westward 
in  a  regular  curve,  about  a  thousand  miles  long, 
from  the  Alaska  Peninsula  toward  Kamchatka, 
nearly  uniting  the  American  and  Asiatic  continents. 
A  very -short  geological  time  ago,  just  before  the 
coming  on  of  the  glacial  winter,  the  union  of  the 
two  continents  was  probably  complete.  The  entire 
chain  appears  to  be  simply  a  degraded  portion  of 
the  North  Pacific  pre-glacial  coast  mountains,  with 
its  foothills  and  lowest  portions  of  the  connecting 
ridges  between  the  peaks  a  few  feet  under  water,  the 
submerged  ridges  forming  the  passes  between  the 
islands  as  they  exist  to-day,  while  the  broad  plain 
to  the  north  of  the  chain  is  now  covered  by  the 
shallow  waters  of  Bering  Sea. 

Now  the  evidence  seems  everywhere  complete 
that  this  segregating  degradation  has  been  effected 
almost  wholly  by  glacial  action.  Yet,  strange  to  say, 
it  is  held  by  most  observers  who  have  made  brief 
visits  to  different  portions  of  the  chain  that  each 
island  is  a  distinct  volcanic  upheaval,  but  little 
changed  since  the  period  of  emergence  from  the  sea, 
an  impression  made  no  doubt  by  the  volcanic  char 
acter  of  most  of  the  rocks,  ancient  and  recent,  of 
which  they  are  composed,  and  by  the  many  extinct, 
or  feebly  active  volcanoes  occurring  here  and  there 
along  the  summits  of  the  highest  masses.  But,  on 
the  contrary,  all  the  evidence  we  have  seen  goes  to 
show  that  the  amount  of  glacial  denudation  these 
rocks  have  undergone  is  very  great,  so  great  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  recent  craters,  almost  every 
existing  feature  is  distinctly  glacial.  The  compara 
tively  featureless  pre-glacial  rocks  have  been  heav 
ily  sculptured  and  fashioned  into  the  endless  va- 
262 


KING  ISLAND 


GRANITE  ROCKS  ON  THE   SOUTH   SIDE  OF  SAINT   LAWRENCE 

ISLAND,   SHOWING   EFFECTS  OF  OVERSWEEPING  ACTION 

OF  ICE-SHEET 


APPENDIX 

riety  they  now  present  of  peak  and  ridge,  valley  and 
fiord  and  clustering  islets,  harmoniously  correlated 
in  accordance  with  glacial  law. 

On  Mount  Makushin,1  whose  summit  reaches  an 
elevation  of  about  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
several  small  glaciers  still  exist,  while  others  yet 
smaller  may  be  hidden  in  the  basins  of  other  moun 
tains  not  yet  explored.  The  summit  of  Makushin,  at 
the  time  my  observations  were  made,  was  capped 
with  heavy  clouds,  and  from  beneath  these  the  gla 
ciers  were  seen  descending  imposingly  into  the  open 
sunshine  to  within  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  feet 
of  the  sea  level,  the  largest  perhaps  about  six  miles  in 
length.  After  the  clouds  cleared  away  the  summit 
was  seen  to  be  heavily  capped  with  ice,  leaving  only 
the  crumbling  edges  of  the  dividing  ridges  and  sub 
ordinate  peaks  free.  The  lower  slopes  of  the  moun 
tain  and  the  wide  valleys  proceeding  from  the  gla 
ciers  present  testimony  of  every  kind  to  show  that 
these  glaciers  now  lingering  on  the  summit  once 
flowed  directly  into  the  sea.  The  adjacent  moun 
tains,  though  now  mostly  free  from  ice,  are  covered 
with  glacial  markings,  extending  over  all  the  low 
grounds  about  their  bases  and  the  shores  of  the 
fiords,  and  over  many  of  the  rocks  now  under  water. 
But  besides  this  evidence  of  recent  local  glacial 
abundance,  we  find  traces  of  far  grander  glacial  con 
ditions  on  the  heavily  abraded  rocks  along  the  shores 
of  the  passes  separating  the  islands,  and  also  in  the 
low  wide  valleys  extending  in  a  direction  parallel 
with  the  passes  across  the  islands,  indicating  the 

1  Muir  probably  adopted  current  estimates  of  the  altitude  of  this 
volcano.  Gannett's  Altitudes  in  Alaska  (1900)  gives  the  elevation  as  5474 
feet,  and  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Map,  No.  8860 
U916),  as  5691  feet. 

263 


APPENDIX 

movement  of  a  vast  ice-sheet  from  the  north  over 
the  ground  now  covered  by  Bering  Sea. 

The  amount  of  degradation  this  island  region  has 
undergone  is  only  partially  manifested  by  the  crum 
bling,  sharpened  condition  of  the  ridges  and  peaks, 
the  abraded  surfaces  that  have  been  overswept, 
and  by  the  extent  of  the  valleys  and  fiords,  and  the 
gaps  between  the  mountains  and  islands. 

That  these  valleys,  fiords,  forges,  and  gaps,  great 
and  small,  like  those  of  the  Sierra,  are  not  a  result  of 
local  subsidences  and  upheavals,  but  of  the  removal 
of  the  material  that  once  filled  them,  is  shown  by  the 
broken  condition  and  the  similarity  of  the  physical 
structure  and  composition  of  their  contiguous  sides, 
just  as  the  correspondence  between  the  tiers  of  ma 
sonry  on  either  side  of  a  broken  gap  in  a  wall  shows 
that  the  missing  blocks  required  to  fill  it  up  have 
been  removed. 

The  chief  agents  of  erosion  and  transportation 
are  water  and  ice,  each  being  regarded  as  the  more 
influential  by  different  observers,  though  the  phe 
nomena  to  which  they  give  rise  are  widely  different. 
All  geologists  recognize  the  fact  that  glaciers  wear 
away  the  rocks  over  which  they  move,  but  great 
vagueness  prevails  as  to  the  size  of  the  fragments  of 
erosion,  and  the  way  they  are  detached  and  re 
moved;  and  if  possible  still  greater  vagueness  pre 
vails  as  to  the  forms  and  characteristics  in  general 
of  the  mountains,  hills,  rocks,  valleys,  etc.,  resulting 
from  this  erosion. 

Towards  the  end  of  summer,  when  the  snow  is 

melted  from  the  lower  portions  of  the  glaciers, 

particles  of  dust  and  sand  may  be  seen  scattered 

over  their  surfaces,  together  with  angular  masses  of 

264 


APPENDIX 

rocks,  derived  from  the  shattered  storm-beaten 
cliffs  above  their  fountains.  The  separation  of  these 
masses,  which  vary  greatly  in  size,  is  due  only  in 
part  to  the  action  of  the  glacier,  though  they  are 
all  transported  on  its  surface  like  floating  drift  on 
a  river,  and  deposited  together  in  moraines.  The 
winds  supply  a  portion  of  the  sand  and  dust,  some 
of  the  larger  fragments  are  set  free  by  the  action  of 
frost,  rains,  and  general  weathering  agents,  consid 
erable  quantities  are  swept  down  in  avalanches  of 
snow  where  the  inclination  of  the  slopes  is  favorable 
to  their  action,  and  shaken  down  by  earthquake 
shocks,  while  the  glacier  itself  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  production  of  these  superficial  effects 
by  undermining  the  cliffs  from  whence  the  frag 
ments  fall. 

But  in  all  moraines  boulders  and  small  dust  par 
ticles  may  be  recognized  that  have  not  been  thus 
derived  from  the  weathered  cliffs  and  dividing  ridges 
projecting  above  the  glaciers,  but  from  the  rocks 
past  which  and  over  which  the  glaciers  flow.  The 
streams  which  drain  glaciers  are  always  turbid  with 
finely  ground  mud  particles  worn  off  the  bed-rocks 
by  a  sliding  motion,  accompanied  by  great  pressure, 
giving  rise  to  polished  surfaces,  and  keeping  up  a 
waste  that  never  for  a  moment  ceases  while  the  gla 
cier  exists;  and  besides  these  small  particles  boulders 
are  found  that  may  be  traced  to  their  origin  in  the 
bottoms  or  sides  of  the  channels.  Accordingly,  an 
abrupt  transition  is  discovered  from  the  polished 
and  plain  portions  of  the  channels  to  the  more  or 
less  angular  and  fractured  portions,  showing  that 
glaciers  degrade  the  rocks  over  which  they  pass  in 
at  least  two  different  ways,  by  grinding  them  into 
265 


APPENDIX 

mud,  and  by  crushing,  breaking,  and  splitting  them 
into  a  coarse  detritus  of  chips  and  boulders,  the  forms 
and  sizes  of  which  are  in  great  part  determined  by 
the  divisional  planes  the  rocks  possess,  and  the 
intensity  and  direction  of  application  of  the  force 
brought  to  bear  on  them.  The  quantity  of  this 
coarser  material  remaining  in  the  channels  along  the 
lines  of  dispersal,  and  the  probable  rate  of  move 
ment  of  the  glaciers  that  quarried  and  transported  it, 
form  data  from  which  some  approximation  to  the 
rate  of  this  method  of  degradation  may  be  reached. 

The  amount  of  influence  exerted  on  the  Aleutian 
region  by  running  water  in  its  various  forms,  and  by 
the  winds,  avalanches,  and  the  atmosphere  in  de 
grading  and  fashioning  the  surface  subsequent  to 
the  melting  of  the  ice,  is  as  yet  scarcely  more  ap 
preciable  than  it  is  in  the  upper  middle  portion 
of  the  Sierra;  for,  besides  being  much  feebler  in  their 
action,  the  time  during  which  the  region  has  been 
exposed  to  their  influence  is  comparatively  short. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  quantity  of  material  quar 
ried  and  carried  away  by  the  force  of  the  ice,  in  proc 
ess  of  bringing  the  region  into  its  present  condition, 
can  hardly  be  overestimated;  for,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  recent  volcanic  cones,  almost  every 
noticeable  feature,  great  and  small,  has  evidently 
been  ground  down  into  the  form  of  greatest  strength 
in  relation  to  the  stress  of  oversweeping  floods  of 
ice.  And  that  these  present  features  are  not  the 
pre-glacial  features  merely  smoothed  and  polished 
and  otherwise  superficially  altered,  but  an  entirely 
new  set  sculptured  from  a  surface  comparatively 
featureless,  is  manifested  by  the  relationship  exist 
ing  between  the  spaces  that  separate  them  and  the 

266 


APPENDIX 

glacier  fountains.  The  greater  the  valley  or  hollow 
of  any  sort,  the  greater  the  snow-collecting  basin 
above  it  whence  flowed  the  ice  that  created  it,  not 
a  fiord  or  valley  being  found  here  or  on  any  portion 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  that  does  not  conduct  to  foun 
tains  of  vanished  or  residual  glaciers  corresponding 
with  it  in  size  and  position  as  cause  and  effect. 

And,  furthermore,  that  the  courses  of  the  present 
valleys  were  not  determined  by  the  streams  of  water 
now  occupying  them,  nor  by  pre-glacial  streams, 
but  by  the  glaciers  of  the  last  or  of  some  former 
glacial  period,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  direc 
tions  of  the  trends  of  all  these  valleys,  however  va 
riable,  are  resultants  of  the  forces  of  the  main  trunk 
glaciers  that  filled  them  and  their  inflowing  tribu 
tary  glaciers,  the  wriggling  fortuitous  trends  of  val 
leys  formed  by  the  action  of  water  being  essentially 
different  from  those  formed  by  ice;  and  therefore 
not  liable  to  be  confounded  with  them.  Neither 
can  we  suppose  pre-existing  fissures  or  local  sub 
sidences  to  have  exercised  any  primary  determining 
influence,  there  being  no  conceivable  coincidence 
between  the  trends  of  fissures  and  subsidences  and 
the  specific  trends  of  ice-created  valleys  and  basins 
in  general,  nor  between  the  position  and  direction 
of  extension  of  these  hypothetical  fissures,  sub 
sidences,  and  foldings  and  the  positions  of  ice- 
fountains. 

The  Pribilof  Islands,  St.  Paul,  St.  George,  Wal 
rus,  and  Otter,  appear  in  general  views  from  the  sea 
as  mere  storm-beaten  remnants  of  a  once  continuous 
land,  wasted  into  bluffs  around  their  shores  by  the 
action  of  the  waves,  all  their  upper  surfaces  being 
planed  down  by  a  heavy  oversweeping  ice-sheet, 
267 


APPENDIX 

slightly  roughened  here  and  there  with  low  ridges 
and  hillocks  that  alternate  with  shallow  valleys. 
None  of  their  features,  as  far  as  I  could  discover 
without  opportunity  for  close  observation,  showed 
any  trace  of  local  glaciation  or  of  volcanic  action 
subsequent  to  the  period  of  universal  glaciation. 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  the  largest  in  Bering  Sea, 
is  situated  at  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  off  the  mouths  of  the  Yukon,  and 
.  forty  miles  from  the  nearest  point  on  the  coast  of 
Siberia.  It  is  about  a  hundred  miles  long  from 
east  to  west,  fifteen  miles  in  average  width,  and  is 
chiefly  composed  of  various  kinds  of  granite,  slate, 
and  lava. 

The  highest  portion  along  the  middle  is  diversi 
fied  with  groups  of  volcanic  cones,  some  of  which  are 
of  considerable  size  and  clearly  post-glacial  in  age, 
presenting  well-defined  craters  and  regular  slopes 
down  to  the  base,  though  I  saw  no  evidence  of  their 
having  poured  forth  extensive  streams  of  molten 
lava  over  the  adjacent  rocks  since  the  close  of  the 
glacial  period ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  ground 
occupied  by  the  cones,  all  the  surface  is  marked 
with  glacial  inscriptions  of  the  most  telling  kind  — 
moraines,  erratic  boulders,  roches  moutonnees,  in 
great  abundance  and  variety  as  to  size,  and  alter 
nating  ridges  and  valleys  with  wide  U-shaped  cross- 
sections,  and  with  nearly  parallel  trends  across  the 
island  in  a  general  north  to  south  direction,  some  of 
them  extending  from  shore  to  shore,  and  all  show 
ing  subordination  to  the  grinding,  furrowing  action 
of  a  broad  over-sweeping  ice-sheet. 

Some  of  the  widest  gap-like  valleys  have  been 
eroded  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  sea,  indicating  that 
268 


VOLCANIC  CONES  ON  SAINT  LAWRENCE  ISLAND 


BED   OF   SMALL   RESIDUAL  GLACIER  ON   SAINT   LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


HERALD   ISLAND 


APPENDIX 

if  the  ice  action  had  gone  on  much  longer  the  present 
single  island  would  have  been  eroded  into  a  group  of 
small  ones;  or  the  entire  mass  of  the  island  would 
have  been  degraded  beneath  the  sea  level,  obliter 
ating  it  from  the  landscape  to  be  in  part  restored 
perhaps  by  the  antagonistic  elevating  volcanic  ac 
tion.  The  action  of  local  glaciers  has  been  compara 
tively  light  hereabouts,  not  enough  greatly  to  ob 
scure  or  interrupt  the  overmastering  effects  of  the 
ice-sheet,  though  they  have  given  marked  charac 
ter  to  the  sculpture  of  some  of  the  higher  portions  of 
the  island. 

The  two  Diomede  Islands  and  Fairway  Rock  are 
mostly  residual  masses  of  granite  brought  into  relief 
and  separated  from  one  another  and  from  the  gen 
eral  mass  of  the  continent,  by  the  action  of  ice  in 
removing  the  missing  material,  while  the  islands 
remain  because  of  superior  resistance  offered  to 
the  universal  degrading  force.  That  they  are  rem 
nants  of  a  once  continuous  land  now  separated  by 
Bering  Strait  is  indicated  by  the  relative  condition 
of  the  sides  of  the  islands  and  of  the  contiguous 
shoulders  of  the  continents,  East  Cape  and  Cape 
Prince  of  Wales,  while  the  general  configuration  of 
the  islands  shows  that  they  have  been  subjected 
to  a  glaciation  of  the  most  comprehensive  kind, 
leaving  them  as  roches  moutonnees  on  a  grand  scale. 

I  discovered  traces  of  local  glaciation  on  the 
largest  of  the  three,  but  the  effects  produced  by  this 
cause  are  comparatively  slight,  while  the  action  of 
excessive  moisture  in  the  form  of  almost  constant 
fogs  and  rains  throughout  the  summer  months, 
combined  with  frost  and  thaw,  has  effected  a  con 
siderable  amount  of  denudation,  manifested  by 
269 


APPENDIX 

groups  of  crumbling  pinnacles  occurring  here  and 
there  on  the  summits. 

Sledge,  King,  and  Herald  Islands  are  evidently 
of  similar  origin,  displaying  the  same  glacial  traces, 
and  varying  chiefly  in  the  amount  of  post-glacial 
waste  they  have  suffered,  and  in  the  consequent 
degree  of  clearness  of  the  testimony  they  present. 
During  our  visit  to  Herald  Island  an  exceptionally 
favorable  opportunity  offered  as  to  the  time  of  year, 
state  of  the  weather,  etc.,  for  observation. 

Kellett,  who  first  discovered  this  island  and 
landed  en  it  under  adverse  circumstances,  describes 
it  as  an  inaccessible  rock.  The  sides  are  indeed  pre 
cipitous  in  the  main,  but  mountaineers  would  find 
many  slopes  and  gullies  by  which  the  summit  could 
be  easily  attained.  We  landed  on  the  southwest 
side,  opposite  the  mouth  of  a  small  valley,  the  bed 
of  a  vanished  glacier.  A  short  gully  which  con 
ducts  from  the  water's  edge  to  the  mouth  of  the 
valley  proper  is  very  steep,  and  at  the  time  of  our 
visit  was  blocked  with  compacted  snow,  in  which 
steps  had  to  be  cut,  but  beyond  this  no  difficulty 
was  encountered,  the  ice  having  graded  a  fine  broad 
way  to  the  summit.  Thence  following  the  highest 
ground  nearly  to  the  northwestern  extremity,  we 
obtained  views  of  most  of  the  surface.  The  highest 
point  is  about  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  sea, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  northwest  end  of 
the  island,  and  four  and  a  half  miles  from  the  south 
east.  This  makes  the  island  about  six  miles  long, 
the  average  width  being  about  two  miles. 

Near  the  middle  of  the  island  there  is  a  low  gap, 
where  the  width  is  only  about  half  a  mile,  and  the 
height  of  the  summit  of  this  portion  of  the  water- 
270 


APPENDIX 

shed  between  the  two  sides  is  only  about  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet.  The  entire  island  as  far  as  seen 
is  a  mass  of  granite,  with  the  exception  of  a  patch 
of  metamorphic  slates  near  the  middle,  which  no 
doubt  owes  its  existence,  with  so  considerable  a 
height,  to  the  superior  resistance  it  offered  to  the 
degrading  action  of  ice,  traces  of  which  are  presented 
in  the  general  moutonnee  form  of  the  island,  and  in 
the  smooth  parallel  ridges  and  valleys  trending  north 
and  south.  These  evidently  have  not  been  deter 
mined  as  to  size,  form,  position,  or  the  direction  of 
their  trends  by  subsidences,  upheavals,  foldings,  or 
any  structural  peculiarity  of  the  rocks  in  which 
they  have  been  eroded,  but  simply  by  the  mechan 
ical  force  of  an  oversweeping  ice-sheet. 

The  effects  of  local  glaciers  are  seen  in  short  val 
leys  of  considerable  depth  as  compared  with  the  area 
from  which  their  fountain  snows  were  derived.  We 
noticed  four  of  these  valleys  that  had  been  occu 
pied  by  residual  glaciers;  and  on  the  hardest  and 
most  enduring  of  the  upswelling  rock  bosses  several 
patches  of  the  ancient  scored  and  polished  surface 
were  discovered,  still  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 
That  these  local  glaciers  have  but  recently  vanished 
is  indicated  by  the  raw  appearance  of  the  surface 
of  their  beds,  while  .one  small  glacier  remnant  oc 
cupying  a  sheltered  hollow  and  possessing  a  well- 
characterized  terminal  moraine  seems  to  be  still 
feebly 'active  in  the  last  stage  of  decadence.  This 
small  granite  island,  standing  solitary  in  the  Polar 
Ocean,  we  regard  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
significant  of  the  monuments  of  geographical  change 
effected  by  general  glaciation. 

Our  stay  on  Wrangell  Land  was  too  short  to  ad- 
271 


APPENDIX 

mit  of  more  than  a  hasty  examination  of  a  few 
square  miles  of  surface  near  the  eastern  extremity. 
The  rock  here  is  a  close-grained  clay  slate,  cleaving 
freely  into  thin  flakes,  with  occasional  compact  met- 
amorphic  masses  rising  above  the  general  surface  or 
forming  cliffs  along  the  shore.  The  soil  about  the 
banks  of  a  river  of  considerable  size,  that  enters  the 
ocean  here,  has  evidently  been  derived  in  the  main 
from  the  underlying  slates,  indicating  a  rapid  weath 
ering  of  the  surface.  A  few  small  deposits  of  mo 
raine  material  were  discovered  containing  traveled 
boulders  of  quartz  and  granite,  no  doubt  from  the 
mountains  in  which  the  river  takes  its  rise,  while 
the  valley  now  occupied  by  the  river  manifests  its 
glacial  origin  in  its  form  and  trends,  the  small 
portion  in  the  middle  eroded  by  the  river  itself 
being  clearly  distinguished  by  its  abrupt  angular 
sides,  which  contrast  sharply  with  the  glacial  out 
lines. 

In  general  views  obtained  in  sailing  along  its 
southern  coast  the  phenomena  presented  seemed 
essentially  the  same  as  have  been  described  else 
where  —  hills,  valleys,  and  sculptured  peaks,  testi 
fying  in  all  their  main  trends  and  contours  to  the 
action  of  ice.  A  range  of  mountains  of  moderate 
height  extends  from  one  extremity  of  the  island  to 
the  other,  a  distance  of  about  sixty-five  miles,  the 
highest  point  as  measured  by  Lieutenant  Berry  be 
ing  twenty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. ' 

All  the  coast  region  of  Siberia  that  came  under 
our  observation,  from  the  Gulf  of  Anadir  to  North 
Cape,  presents  traces  in  great  abundance  and  va 
riety  of  universal  as  well  as  local  glaciation.  Between 
Plover  and  St.  Lawrence  Bays,  where  the  moun- 
272 


OVERSWEPT   GLACIAL   VALLEYS   AND   RIDGES  ON   SAINT 
LAWRENCE    ISLAND 


BED  OF  LOCAL  GLACIER,   SAINT  LAWRENCE   ISLAND 


APPENDIX 

tains  attain  their  greatest  elevation  and  where  local 
glaciation  has  been  heaviest,  the  coast  is  lacerated 
with  deep  fiords,  on  the  lofty  granite  walls  of  which 
the  glacial  records  are  in  many  places  well  pre 
served,  and  offer  evidence  that  could  hardly  be  over 
looked  by  the  most  careless  observer. 

Our  first  general  views  of  this  region  were  ob 
tained  on  June  7,  when  it  was  yet  winter,  and  the 
landscape  was  covered  with  snow  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  After  several  days  of  storm  the  clouds 
lifted,  exposing  the  heavily  abraded  fronts  of  out 
standing  cliffs;  then  the  smooth  overswept  ridges 
and  slopes  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  came  in 
sight,  and  one  angular  peak  after  another,  until  a 
continuous  range  forty  to  fifty  miles  long  could  be 
seen  from  one  standpoint.  Many  of  the  peaks  are 
fluted  with  the  narrow  channels  of  avalanches,  and 
hollowed  with  neve  amphitheaters  of  great  beauty  of 
form,  while  long  withdrawing  fiords  and  valleys  may 
be  traced  back  into  the  recesses  of  the  highest  groups, 
once  the  beds  of  glaciers  that  flowed  in  imposing 
ranks  to  the  sea. 

Plover  Bay,  which  I  examined  in  detail,  may  be 
taken  as  a  good  representative  of  the  fiords  of  this 
portion  of  the  coast.  The  walls  rise  to  an  average 
height  of  about  two  thousand  feet,  and  present  a 
severely  desolate  and  bedraggled  appearance,  owing 
to  the  crumbling  condition  of  the  rocks,  which  in 
most  places  are  being  rapidly  disintegrated,  loading 
the  slopes  with  loose,  shifting  detritus  whenever  the 
angle  is  low  enough  to  allow  it  to  come  to  rest.  When 
examined  closely,  however,  this  loose  material  is 
found  to  be  of  no  great  depth.  The  solid  rock  comes 
to  the  surface  in  many  places,  and  on  the  most  en- 
273 


APPENDIX 

during  portions  rounded  glaciated  surfaces  are  still 
found  grooved,  scratched,  and  polished  in  small 
patches  from  the  sea  level  up  to  a  height  of  a 
thousand  feet  or  more. 

Large  taluses  with  their  bases  under  the  water 
occur  on  both  sides  of  the  fiord  in  front  of  the  side 
canons  that  partially  separate  the  main  mountain 
masses  that  form  the  walls.  These  taluses  are  com 
posed  in  great  part  of  moraine  material,  brought 
down  by  avalanches  of  snow  from  the  terminal 
moraines  of  small  vanished  glaciers  that  lay  at  a 
height  of  from  one  to  five  thousand  feet,  in  recesses 
where  the  snow  accumulated  from  the  surrounding 
slopes,  and  where  sheltered  from  the  direct  action 
of  the  sun  the  glaciers  lingered  longest.  These  re 
cent  moraines  are  formed  of  several  concentric 
masses  shoved  together,  showing  that  the  glaciers 
to  which  they  belonged  melted  and  receded  gradu 
ally  with  slight  fluctuations  of  level  and  rate  of  de 
cadence,  in  accordance  with  conditions  of  snow 
fall,  temperature,  etc.,  like  those  of  lower  latitudes. 

When  the  main  central  glacier  that  filled  this 
fiord  was  in  its  prime  as  a  distinct  glacier  it  meas 
ured  about  thirty  miles  in  length  and  from  five  to 
six  miles  in  width,  and  was  from  two  to  three  thou 
sand  feet  in  depth.  It  then  had  at  least  five  main 
tributaries,  which,  as  the  trunk  melted,  became  inde 
pendent  glaciers;  and,  again,  as  the  trunks  of  these 
main  tributaries  melted,  their  smaller  tributaries, 
numbering  about  seventy-five,  and  from  less  than 
a  mile  to  several  miles  in  length,  became  separate 
glaciers  and  lingered  probably  for  centuries  in  the 
high,  cool  fountains.  These  also,  as  far  as  we  have 
seen,  have  vanished,  though  possibly  some  wasting 
274 


APPENDIX 

remnant  may  still  exist  in  the  highest  and  best- 
protected  recesses  about  the  head  of  the  fiord. 

Along  the  coast,  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  to  the  eastward  and  southward  of  the  mouth 
of  Metchigme  Bay,  interesting  deposits  occur  of 
roughly  stratified  glacial  detritus  in  the  form  of  sand, 
gravel,  and  boulders.  They  rise  from  the  shore  in 
raw,  wave-washed  bluffs  about  forty  feet  high  and 
extend  to  the  base  of  the  mountains  as  a  gently 
inclined  plain,  with  a  width  in  some  places  of  two 
or  three  miles.  Similar  morainal  deposits  were  also 
observed  on  the  American  coast  at  Golofnin  Bay, 
Kotzebue  Sound,  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and  else 
where.  At  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  the  formation  rises 
in  successive  well-defined  terraces. 

The  peninsula,  the  extremity  of  which  forms  East 
Cape,  trends  nearly  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the 
mainland,  and  consequently  occupies  a  telling  posi 
tion  with  reference  to  ice  moving  from  the  north 
ward.  I  was  therefore  eager  to  examine  it  to  see 
what  testimony  it  might  have  to  offer.  We  landed 
during  favorable  weather  on  the  south  side  at  a 
small  Eskimo  village  built  on  a  rough  moraine,  and 
pushed  on  direct  to  the  summit  of  the  watershed, 
from  which  good  general  views  of  nearly  all  the 
surface  of  the  peninsula  were  obtained. 

The  dividing  ridge  along  the  high  eastern  portion 
is  traversed  by  a  telling  series  of  parallel  grooves 
and  small  valleys  trending  north  and  south  ap 
proximately,  the  curves  on  the  north  commencing 
nearly  at  the  water's  edge,  while  the  south  side  is 
more  or  less  precipitous.  The  culminating  point  of 
the  elevated  eastern  portion  of  the  peninsula  is 
about  twenty-five  hundred  feet  high,  and  has  been 
275 


APPENDIX 

cut  from  the  mainland  and  added  as  another  island 
to  the  Diomede  group,  the  wide  gap  of  low  ground 
connecting  it  with  the  adjacent  mountainous  por 
tion  of  the  mainland  being  only  a  few  feet  above 
tide-water.  Out  in  the  midst  of  this  low,  flat  region 
smooth  upswelling  roches  moutonnees  were  discov 
ered  here  and  there  like  groups  of  small  islands,  with 
trends  and  contours  emphatically  glacial,  all  telling 
the  action  of  a  universal  abrading  ice-sheet  moving 
southward. 

Hence  along  the  coast  to  Cape  North,  which  is 
the  limit  of  our  observations  in  this  direction,  the 
same  class  of  ice  phenomena  was  discovered  — 
moraine  material,  washed  and  re-formed,  moutonnee 
masses  of  the  harder  rocks  standing  like  islands  in 
the  low,  mossy  tundra,  and  traveled  boulders  and 
pebbles  lying  stranded  on  the  summits  of  rocky 
headlands. 

These  enduring  monuments  are  particularly 
abundant  and  significant  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cape  Wankarem,  where  the  granite  is  more  com 
pact  and  resisting  than  is  commonly  found  in  the 
Arctic  regions  we  have  visited,  and  consequently 
has  longer  retained  the  more  evanescent  of  the  gla 
cial  markings.  Cape  Wankarem  is  a  narrow,  flat- 
topped,  residual  mass  of  this  enduring  granite,  on 
the  summit  of  which  two  patches  of  the  original 
polished  surface  were  discovered  that  still  retains 
the  fine  striae  and  many  erratic  boulders  of  slate, 
quartz,  and  various  kinds  of  lava,  which,  from  the 
configuration  and  geographical  position  of  the  cape 
with  reference  to  the  surrounding  region,  could  not 
have  been  brought  to  their  present  resting-places 
by  any  local  glacier. 

276 


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APPENDIX 

Cape  Serdzekamen  is  another  of  these  residual 
island  masses,  brought  into  relief  by  general  glacial 
denudation,  manifesting  its  origin  in  every  feature, 
and  corroborating  the  testimony  given  at  Cape 
Wankarem  and  elsewhere  in  the  most  emphatic 
manner. 

All  the  sections  of  the  tundra  seen  either  on  the 
Siberian  or  Alaskan  coast  lead  towards  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  ground  is  glacial,  re-formed  under  the 
action  of  running  water  derived  in  broad,  shallow 
currents  from  the  melting,  receding  edges  of  the  ice- 
sheet,  and  also  in  some  measure  from  ice  left  on  the 
high  lands  after  the  main  ice-sheet  had  been  with 
drawn  ;  for  these  low,  flat  deposits  differ  in  no  par 
ticular  of  form  or  composition  that  we  have  been 
able  to  detect  from  those  still  in  process  of  forma 
tion  in  front  of  the  large  receding  glaciers  of  south 
eastern  Alaska.  On  many  of  the  so-called  "  mud 
flats"  extending  from  the  snouts  of  glaciers  that 
have  receded  a  few  miles  from  the  shore,  mosses  and 
lichens  and  other  kinds  of  tundra  vegetation  are 
being  gradually  acquired,  and  when  thus  clothed 
these  patches  of  tundra  are  not  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  extensive  deposits  about  the  shores  of  the 
Arctic  regions. 

The  phenomena  observed  on  the  American  coast 
from  St.  Michael  to  Point  Barrow  differ  in  no  essen 
tial  particular  from  those  which  have  been  described 
on  the  opposite  shores  of  Siberia.  Moraines  more  or 
less  wasted,  and  re-formations  of  moraine  material, 
smooth  overswept  ridges  with  glacial  trends  and  the 
corresponding  valleys,  roches  moutonnees,  and  the 
fountain  amphitheaters  of  local  glaciers  were  ob 
served  almost  everywhere  on  the  mountainous 
277 


APPENDIX 

portions  of  the  coast,  though  in  general  more 
deeply  weathered,  owing  mainly  to  the  occurrence 
of  less  resisting  rocks,  limestones,  sandstones,  por 
ous  lavas,  etc. 

A  number  of  well-characterized  moraines  so  sit 
uated  with  reference  to  topographical  conditions  as 
to  have  escaped  destructive  washing  were  noticed 
near  Cape  Lisburne,  and  moraine  deposits  of  great 
extent  at  Kotzebue  Sound  and  Golofnin  Bay,  of 
which  many  fine  sections  were  exposed.  At  the 
latter  locality,  judging  from  the  comparatively 
fresh  appearance  of  the  rock  surfaces  and  deposits 
around  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  the  height  and 
extent  of  the  ice-fountains,  the  glacier  that  dis 
charged  here  was  probably  the  last  to  vanish  from 
the  American  shore  of  Bering  Sea. 

As  to  the  thickness  attained  by  the  ice-sheet  over 
the  regions  that  we  have  been  examining  during 
the  period  of  greatest  glacial  development,  we  have 
seen  that  it  passed  heavily  over  the  islands  of 
Bering  Sea  and  the  adjacent  mountains  on  either 
side,  especially  at  East  Cape  and  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales,  at  a  height  of  twenty-five  hundred  feet  or 
more  above  the  bottom  of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait, 
the  average  depth  of  water  here  being  about  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet.  And  though  the  lowest  portion 
of  the  land  beneath  the  ice  may  have  been  degraded 
to  a  considerable  depth  subsequent  to  the  time  when 
these  highest  portions  were  left  bare,  on  the  other 
hand  the  level  of  the  ice  must  have  been  consider 
ably  higher  than  the  summits  over  which  it  passed, 
inasmuch  as  they  give  evidence  of  having  been 
heavily  abraded.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the 
thickness  of  the  general  northern  ice-sheet  through- 
278 


APPENDIX 

out  a  considerable  portion  of  its  history  was  not 
less  than  twenty-five  hundred  feet,  and  probably 
more,  over  the  northern  portion  of  the  region 
now  covered  by  Bering  Sea  and  part  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean. 

In  view  of  this  colossal  ice-flood  grinding  on 
throughout  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  of 
the  glacial  period,  the  excavation  of  the  shallow 
basins  of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait  and  the  Arctic  Ocean 
must  be  taken  as  only  a  small  part  of  the  erosion 
effected;  for  so  shallow  are  these  waters,  were  the 
tallest  sequoias  planted  on  the  bottom  where  sound 
ings  have  been  made,  their  tops  would  rise  in  most 
places  a  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  surface. 
The  Plover  Bay  glacier,  as  we  have  shown,  eroded 
the  granite  in  the  formation  of  its  channel  to  a  depth 
of  not  less  than  two  thousand  feet,  and  the  amount 
of  erosion  effected  by  the  ice-sheet  was  probably 
much  greater. 

It  appears,  therefore,  in  summing  up  the  results 
of  our  observations  along  the  North  Pacific  and 
Arctic  coasts :  — 

(1)  That  the  southernmost   glacier  lies  on  the 
Sierra  near  latitude  36°;  the  northernmost, 
with  perhaps  a  few  exceptions,  near  62°. 

(2)  That  the  region  of  greatest  glaciation  lies  be 
tween  56°  and  61°,  where  the  mountains  are 
highest  and  the  snowfall  greatest. 

(3)  That  an  ice-sheet  flowed  from  the  Arctic  re 
gions,  from  beyond  the  end  of  the  continent, 
pursuing  a  general  southerly  direction,  and 
discharged  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  south  of 
the  Aleutian  Islands. 

(4)  That  of  this  continuous  ice-sheet,  extending 

279 


APPENDIX 

from  the  Arctic  Ocean  beyond  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  continent,  the  glaciers,  great 
and  small,  now  existing  are  the  remnants. 
(5)  That  the  basins  of  Bering  Sea  and  Strait  and 
of  the  adjacent  portion  of  the  Arctic  Ocean 
are  simply  those  portions  of  the  bed  of  the  ice- 
sheet  which  were  eroded  to  a  moderate  depth 
beneath  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  over  which 
the  ocean  waters  were  gradually  extended  as 
the  ice-sheet  was  withdrawn,  thus  separat 
ing  the  continents  of  Asia  and  America,  at  the 
close  of  the  glacial  period. 

We  are  now  better  prepared  to  read  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  on  the  Sierra,  and  fortunately, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  nowhere  is  the  glacial  rec- 
cord  clearer. 


II 

BOTANICAL  NOTES 
INTRODUCTORY 

THE  plants  named  in  the  following  notes  were 
collected  at  many  localities  on  the  coasts  of  Alaska 
and  Siberia,  and  on  St.  Lawrence,  Wrangell,  and 
Herald  Islands,'  between  about  latitude  54°  and 
71°  N.,  longitude  161°  and  178°  W.,  in  the  course 
of  short  excursions,  some  of  them  less  than  an  hour 
in  length.  Inasmuch  as  the  flora  of  the  arctic  and 
subarctic  regions  is  nearly  the  same  everywhere,  the 
discovery  of  many  species  new  to  science  was  not  to 
be  expected.  The  collection,  however,  will  no  doubt 
be  valuable  for  comparison  with  the  plants  of  other 
regions.  In  general  the  physiognomy  of  the  vege 
tation  of  the  polar  regions  resembles  that  of  the 
alpine  valleys  of  the  temperate  zones;  so  much  so 
that  the  botanist  on  the  coast  of  Arctic  Siberia  or 
America  might  readily  fancy  himself  on  the  Sierra 
Nevada  at  a  height  of  ten  to  twelve  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea. 

There  is  no  line  of  perpetual  snow  on  any  portion 
of  the  Arctic  regions  known  to  explorers.  The  snow 
disappears  every  summer,  not  only  from  the  low, 
sandy  shores  and  boggy  tundras,  but  also  from  the 
tops  of  the  mountains,  and  all  the  upper  slopes  and 
valleys  with  the  exception  of  small  patches  of  drifts 
and  avalanche-heaps  hardly  noticeable  in  general 
views.  But  though  nowhere  excessively  deep  or 
permanent,  the  snow-mantle  is  universal  during 
281 


APPENDIX 

winter,  and  the  plants  are  solidly  frozen  and  buried 
for  nearly  three  fourths  of  the  year.  In  this  condi 
tion  they  enjoy  a  sleep  and  rest  about  as  profound 
as  death,  from  which  they  awake  in  the  months  of 
June  and  July  in  vigorous  health,  and  speedily  reach 
a  far  higher  development  of  leaf  and  flower  and  fruit 
than  is  generally  supposed.  On  the  drier  banks  and 
hills  about  Kotzebue  Sound,  Cape  Thompson,  and 
Cape  Lisburne,  many  species  show  but  little  cli 
matic  repression,  and  during  the  long  summer  days 
grow  tall  enough  to  wave  in  the  wind,  and  unfold 
flowers  in  as  rich  profusion  and  as  highly  colored 
as  may  be  found  in  regions  lying  a  thousand  miles 
farther  south. 

UNALASKA 

To  the  botanist  approaching  any  portion  of  the 
Aleutian  chain  of  islands  from  the  southward  during 
the  winter  or  spring  months,  the  view  is  severely 
desolate  and  forbidding.  The  snow  comes  down  to 
the  water's  edge  in  solid  white,  interrupted  only  by 
dark,  outstanding  bluffs  with  faces  too  steep  for 
snow  to  lie  on,  and  by  the  backs  of  rounded  rocks 
and  long,  rugged  reefs  beaten  and  overswept  by 
heavy  breakers  rolling  in  from  the  Pacific,  while 
throughout  nearly  every  month  of  the  year  the 
higher  mountains  are  wrapped  in  gloomy,  dripping 
storm-clouds. 

Nevertheless,  vegetation  here  is  remarkably  close 
and  luxuriant,  and  crowded  with  showy  bloom, 
covering  almost  every  foot  of  the  ground  up  to  a 
height  of  about  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  — • 
the  harsh  trachytic  rocks,  and  even  the  cindery 
bases  of  the  craters,  as  well  as  the  moraines  and 
282 


APPENDIX 

rough  soil-beds  outspread  on  the  low  portions  of 
the  short,  narrow  valleys. 

On.  the  twentieth  of  May  we  found  the  showy 
Geum  gladale  already  in  flower,  also  an  arctostaphy- 
los  and  draba,  on  a  slope  facing  the  south,  near  the 
harbor  of  Unalaska.  The  willows,  too,  were  then 
beginning  to  put  forth  their  catkins,  while  a  multi 
tude  of  green  points  were  springing  up  in  sheltered 
spots  wherever  the  snow  had  vanished.  At  a  height 
of  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  however,  winter  was 
still  unbroken,  with  scarce  a  memory  of  the  rich 
bloom  of  summer. 

During  a  few  short  excursions  along  the  shores 
of  Unalaska  Harbor,  and  on  two  of  the  adjacent 
mountains,  towards  the  end  of  May  and  the  be 
ginning  of  October,  we  saw  about  fifty  species  of 
flowering  plants  —  empetrum,  vaccinium,  bryan- 
thus,  pyrola,  arctostaphylos,  ledum,  cassiope,  lu- 
pinus,  geranium,  epilobium,  silene,  draba,  and 
saxifraga,  being  the  most  telling  and  characteristic 
of  the  genera  represented.  Empetrum  nigrum,  a 
bryanthus,  and  three  species  of  vaccinium  make 
a  grand  display  when  in  flower,  and  show  their 
massed  colors  at  a  considerable  distance. 

Almost  the  entire  surface  of  the  valleys  and  hills 
and  lower  slopes  of  the  mountains  is  covered  with  a 
dense,  spongy  plush  of  lichens  and  mosses  similar  to 
that  which  covers  the  tundras  of  the  Arctic  regions, 
making  a  rich  green  mantle  on  which  the  showy, 
flowering  plants  are  strikingly  relieved,  though 
these  grow  far  more  luxuriantly  on  the  banks  of  the 
streams  where  the  drainage  is  less  interrupted.  Here 
also  the  ferns,  of  which  I  saw  three  species,  are  taller 
and  more  abundant,  some  of  them  arching  their 
283 


APPENDIX 

broad,  delicate  fronds  over  one's  shoulders,  while  in 
similar  situations  the  tallest  of  the  five  grasses  that 
were  seen  reaches  a  height  of  nearly  six  feet,  and 
forms  a  growth  close  enough  for  the  farmer's  scythe. 

Not  a  single  tree  has  been  seen  on  any  of  the 
islands  of  the  chain  west  of  Kodiak,  excepting  a  few 
spruces  brought  from  Sitka  and  planted  at  Una- 
laska  by  the  Russians  about  fifty  years  ago.  They 
are  still  alive  in  a  dwarfed  condition,  having  made 
scarce  any  appreciable  growth  since  they  were 
planted.  These  facts  are  the  more  remarkable,  since 
in  southeastern  Alaska,  lying  both  to  the  north  and 
south  of  here,  and  on  the  many  islands  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago,  as  well  as  on  the  mainland, 
forests  of  beautiful  conifers  flourish  exuberantly 
and  attain  noble  dimensions,  while  the  climatic  con 
ditions  generally  do  not  appear  to  differ  greatly 
from  those  that  obtain  on  these  treeless  islands. 

Wherever  cattle  have  been  introduced  they  have 
prospered  and  grown  fat  on  the  abundance  of  rich 
nutritious  pasturage  to  be  found  almost  everywhere 
in  the  deep,  withdrawing  valleys  and  on  the  green 
slopes  of  the  hills  and  mountains,  but  the  wetness  of 
the  summer  months  will  always  prevent  the  making 
of  hay  in  any  considerable  quantities. 

The  agricultural  possibilities  of  these  islands 
seem  also  to  be  very  limited.  The  hardier  of  the 
cereals  —  rye,  barley,  and  oats  —  make  a  good, 
vigorous  growth,  and  head  out,  but  seldom  or  never 
mature,  on  account  of  insufficient  sunshine  and 
overabundance  of  moisture  in  the  form  of  long-con 
tinued,  drizzling  fogs  and  rains.  Green  crops,  how 
ever,  as  potatoes,  turnips,  cabbages,  beets,  and  most 
other  common  garden  vegetables,  thrive  wherever 
284 


APPENDIX 

the  ground  is  thoroughly  drained  and  has  a  south 
erly  exposure. 

ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND 

St.  Lawrence  Island,  as  far  as  our  observations 
extended,  is  mostly  a  dreary  mass  of  granite  and 
lava  of  various  forms  and  colors,  roughened  with 
volcanic  cones,  covered  with  snow,  and  rigidly 
bound  in  ocean  ice  for  half  the  year.  Inasmuch  as  it 
lies  broadsidewise  to  the  direction  pursued  by  the 
great  ice-sheet  that  recently  filled  Bering  Sea,  and 
its  rocks  offered  unequal  resistance  to  the  denuding 
action  of  the  ice,  the  island  is  traversed  by  numer 
ous  ridges  and  low,  gap-like  valleys  all  trending  in 
the  same  general  direction.  Some  of  the  lowest  of 
these  transverse  valleys  have  been  degraded  nearly 
to  the  level  of  the  sea,  showing  that  if  the  glacia- 
tion  to  which  the  island  has  been  subjected  had 
been  slightly  greater,  we  should  have  found  several 
islands  here  instead  of  one. 

At  the  time  of  our  first  visit,  May  28,  winter  still 
had  full  possession,  but  eleven  days  later  we  found 
the  dwarf  willows,  drabas,  erigerons,  and  saxi 
frages  pushing  up  their  buds  and  leaves,  on  spots 
bare  of  snow,  with  wonderful  rapidity.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  spring  at  the  northwest  end  of  the 
island.  On  July  4  the  flora  seemed  to  have  reached 
its  highest  development.  The  bottoms  of  the  glacial 
valleys  were  in  many  places  covered  with  tall  grasses 
and  carices  evenly  planted  and  forming  meadows 
of  considerable  size,  while  the  drier  portions  and  the 
sloping  grounds  about  them  were  enlivened  with 
gay,  highly  colored  flowers  from  an  inch  to  nearly 
two  feet  in  height,  such  as  Aconitum  Napellus,  L., 

285 


APPENDIX 

var.  delphini folium,  Ser.,  Polemonium  cosruleum,  L., 
Papaver  nudicaule,  L.,  Draba  alpina,  L.,  and  Silene 
acaulis,  L.,  in  large,  closely  flowered  tufts,  as  well 
as  andromeda,  ledum,  linnsea,  cassiope,  and  several 
species  of  vaccinium  and  saxifraga. 

ST.  MICHAEL 

The  region  about  St.  Michael  is  a  magnificent 
tundra,  crowded  with  Arctic  lichens  and  mosses, 
which  here  develop  under  most  favorable  condi 
tions.  In  the  spongy  plush  formed  by  the  lower 
plants,  in  which  one  sinks  almost  knee-deep  at 
every  step,  there  is  a  sparse  growth  of  grasses, 
carices,  and  rushes,  tall  enough  to  wave  in  the  wind, 
while  empetrum,  the  dwarf  birch,  and  the  various 
heathworts  flourish  here  in  all  their  beauty  of  bright 
leaves  and  flowers.  The  moss  mantle  for  the  most 
part  rests  on  a  stratum  of  ice  that  never  melts  to 
any  great  extent,  and  the  ice  on  a  bed  rock  of  black 
vesicular  lava.  Ridges  of  the  lava  rise  here  and 
there  above  the  general  level  in  rough  masses,  afford 
ing  ground  for  plants  that  like  a  drier  soil.  Nu 
merous  hollows  and  watercourses  also  occur  on  the 
general  tundra,  whose  well-drained  banks  are  decked 
with  gay  flowers  in  lavish  abundance,  and  meadow 
patches  of  grasses  shoulder-high,  suggestive  of  re 
gions  much  farther  south. 

The  following  plants  and  a  few  doubtful  species 
not  yet  determined  were  collected  here:  — 

Aspidium  fragrans,  Sw.  Betula  na.no.,  L. 

Woodsia  ilvensis,  (L.),  R.  Br.  Alnus  viridis,  DC. 

Eriophorum  capitatum,  Hos.  Polygonum  alpinum,  All. 

Carex  vulgaris,  (Fries),  Willd.,  var.     Arenaria  lateriflora,  L. 

alpina.  Stellaria  longipes,  Goldie. 
Lloydia  serotina,  (Sweet),  Reichenb.      Silene  acaulis,  L. 

Tofieldia  coccinea,  Richards.  Anemone  narcissiflora,  L. 

286 


APPENDIX 


Anemone  parciflora,  Miohx. 
Caltha  palustris,  L.,  var.  asarifolia, 

Rothr. 

Corydalis  pauciflora. 
Draba  alpina,  L. 

"       incana,  L. 

Euirema  arenicola,  Richards. 
Saxifraga  nivalis,  L. 

"         hieracifolia,  Waldst.  &  Kit. 
Rubus  Chamcemorus,  L. 

"       arcticus,  L. 
Potentilla  nivea,  L. 
Dryat  octopelala,  L. 
Oxytropis  podocarpa,  Gray. 
Astragalus  alpinus,  L. 

"         /rigidus,  Gray,  var.  lit- 

toralis. 

Lalhyrus  maritimus,  Bigel. 
Epilobium  latifolium,  L. 
Cassiope  tetragone,  (D.  Don.)>  Desv. 
Andromeda  polifolia,  L. 
Loiseleuria  procumbens,  Desv. 


Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L. 
Arctostaphylos  alpina,  Spreng. 
Ledum  palustre,  L. 
Diapensia  lapponica,  L. 
Armeria  vulgaris,  Willd. 
Primula  borealis,  Duby. 
Polemonium  cceruleum,  L. 
Mertensia  paniculata,  Desv. 
Pedicularis  sudetica,  Willd. 

euphrasioides,  Stev. 
Langsdorffi,  Fisch.,  var. 
lanata,  Gray. 
Pinguicula  villosa,  L. 
Linnaea  borealis,  Gronov. 
Valeriana  capitata  (Pall.),  Willd. 
Saussurea  alpina,  DC. 
Nardosmia  frigida,  Hook. 
Senecio  frigidus.  Less. 

palustris.  Hook. 
Arnica  angustifolia,  Vahl. 
Artemisia  arctica,  Bess. 
Matricaria  inodora,  L. 


GOLOFNIN  BAY 

The  tundra  flora  on  the  west  side  of  Golofnin 
Bay  is  remarkably  close  and  luxuriant,  covering 
almost  every  foot  of  the  ground,  the  hills  as  well  as 
the  valleys,  while  the  sandy  beach  and  a  bank  of 
coarsely  stratified  moraine  material  a  few  yards 
back  from  the  beach  were  blooming  like  a  garden 
with  Lathyrus  maritimus,  Iris  sibirica,  Polemonium 
cccruleum,  etc.,  diversified  with  clumps  and  patches 
of  Elymus  arenarius,  Alnus  viridis,  and  Abies  alba. 

This  is  one  of  the  few  points  on  the  east  side  of 
Bering  Sea  where  trees  closely  approach  the  shore. 
The  white  spruce  occurs  here  in  small  groves  or 
thickets  of  well-developed,  erect  trees  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  high,  near  the  level  of  the  sea,  at  a  dis 
tance  of  about  six  or  eight  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  bay,  and  gradually  becomes  irregular  and  dwarfed 
as  it  approaches  the  shore.  Here  a  number  of  dead 
and  dying  specimens  were  observed,  indicating  that 
287 


APPENDIX 

conditions  of  soil,  climate,  and  relations  to  other 
plants  were  becoming  more  unfavorable,  and  caus 
ing  the  tree-line  to  recede  from  the  coast. 

The  following  collection  was  made  here  July  10 :  — 

Aspidium  spinulosum,  Sw.  Rubus  arcticus,  L. 

Elymus  arenarius,  L.  Epilobium  latifolium,  L. 

Poo  trivialis,  L.  Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L. 

Carei   vesicaria,   L.,   var.   alpigena,  Trientalis  europcea,  L.,  var.  arctica, 

Fries.  Ledeb. 

Lloydia  serotina,  (Sweet),  Reichenb.  Gentiana  glauca,  Pall. 

Iris  sibirica,  L.  Polemonium  cceruleum,  L. 

Arenaria  peploides,  L.  Pinguicula  villosa,  L. 

Eutrema  arenicola,  Hook.  Chrysanthemum  arcticum,  L. 

Spiraea  betulifolia,  Pall.  Artemisia  Tilesii,  Ledeb. 

KOTZEBUE  SOUND 

The  flora  of  the  region  about  the  head  of  Kotzebue 
Sound  is  hardly  less  luxuriant  and  rich  in  species 
than  that  of  other  points,  visited  by  the  Corwin, 
lying  several  degrees  farther  south.  Fine  nutritious 
grasses  suitable  for  the  fattening  of  cattle,  and  from 
two  to  six  feet  high,  are  not  of  rare  occurrence  on 
meadows  of  considerable  extent,  and  along  stream- 
banks  wherever  the  stagnant  waters  of  the  tundra 
have  been  drained  off,  while  in  similar  localities  the 
most  showy  of  the  arctic  plants  bloom  in  all  their 
freshness  and  beauty,  manifesting  no  sign  of  frost, 
or  unfavorable  conditions  of  any  kind  whatever. 

A  striking  result  of  the  airing  and  draining  of  the 
boggy  tundra  soil  is  shown  on  the  ice-bluffs  around 
Eschscholtz  Bay,  where  it  has  been  undermined  by 
the  melting  of  the  ice  on  which  it  rests.  In  falling 
down  the  face  of  the  ice-wall  it  is  well  shaken  and 
rolled  before  it  again  comes  to  rest  on  terraced  or 
gently  sloping  portions  of  the  wall.  The  original 
vegetation  of  the  tundra  is  thus  destroyed,  and  tall 
grasses  spring  up  on  the  fresh,  mellow  ground  as  it 
accumulates  from  time  to  time,  growing  lush  and 
288 


APPENDIX 

rank,  though  in  many  places  that  we  noted  these 
new  soil-beds  are  not  more  than  a  foot  in  depth,  and 
lie  on  the  solid  ice. 

At  the  time  of  our  last  visit  to  this  interesting  re 
gion,  about  the  middle  of  September,  the  weather 
was  still  fine,  suggesting  the  Indian  summer  of  the 
Western  States.  The  tundra  glowed  in  the  mellow 
sunshine  with  the  colors  of  the  ripe  foliage  of  vac- 
cinium,  empetrum,  arctostaphylos,  and  dwarf  birch; 
red,  purple,  and  yellow,  in  pure  bright  tones,  while 
the  berries,  hardly  less  beautiful,  were  scattered 
everywhere  as  if  they  had  been  sown  broadcast  with 
a  lavish  hand,  the  whole  blending  harmoniously 
with  the  neutral  tints  of  the  furred  bed  of  lichens 
and  mosses  on  which  the  bright  leaves  and  berries 
were  painted. 

On  several  points  about  the  sound  the  white 
spruce  occurs  in  small,  compact  groves  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  shore;  and  pyrola,  which  belongs  to 
wooded  regions,  is  abundant  where  no  trees  are  now 
in  sight,  tending  to  show  that  areas  of  considerable 
extent,  now  treeless,  were  once  forested. 

The  plants  collected  are:  — 

Luzula  hyperborea,  R.  Br.  Arctostaphylos  alpina,  Spreng. 

Attiwm  schcenoprasum,  L.  Cassiope  tetragone,  (D.  Don),  Desv. 

Salix  polaris,  Wahlenb.  Ledum  palustre,  L. 

Polygonum  viviparum,  L.  Vaceinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L. 

Steilaria  longipes,  Goldie.  Vaceinium  uliginosum,  L.,  var.  muc- 
Cerastium  alpinum,  L.,  var.  Behrin-  ronata.  Herder. 

gianum,  Regel.  Armeria  vulgaris,  Willd.,  var.  arctica, 

Papaver  nudicaule,  L.  Cham. 

Saxifraga  tricuspidata,  Retz.  Trientalis  europixa,  L.,  var.  arctica, 

Potentilla  anserina,  L.,  var.  Ledeb. 

biflora,  Willd.  Mertensia  maritima,  L.  (S.  F.  Gray), 

fruticosa,  L.  Desv. 

Lupinus  arcticus,  Watson.  Castilleia  pallida,  Kunth. 

Hedysarum  boreale,  Nutt  Pedicularis  sudetica,  Willd. 

Empetrum  nigrum,  L.  "           verticittata,  L. 
Pyrola  rotundifolia,  L.,  var.  pumila,  Galium  boreale,  L. 

Hook.  Senecio  palustris,  Hook. 

289 


APPENDIX 


CAPE  THOMPSON 

The  Cape  Thompson  flora  is  richer  in  species  and 
individuals  than  that  of  any  other  point  on  the  Arctic 
shores  we  have  seen,  owing  no  doubt  mainly  to  the 
better  drainage  of  the  ground  through  the  fissured 
frost-cracked  limestone,  which  hereabouts  is  the 
principal  rock. 

Where  the  hill-slopes  are  steepest  the  rock  fre 
quently  occurs  in  loose,  angular  masses,  and  is  en 
tirely  bare  of  soil.  But  between  these  barren  slopes 
there  are  valleys  where  the  showiest  of  the  Arctic 
plants  bloom  in  rich  profusion  and  variety,  forming 
brilliant  masses  of  color  —  purple,  yellow,  and  blue 
—  where  certain  species  form  beds  of  considerable 
size,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  others. 

The  following  list  was  obtained  here  July  19:  — 


Cystopteris  fragilis,  (L.),  Bernh. 

Trisetum    subspicatum,    Beauv., 
var.  molle,  Gray. 

Glyceria  — 

Festuca  satita  (?)  [F.  ovina,  L.?] 

Corel  rariflora,  Wahlenb. 

1      vulgaris,  Fries,  var.  alpina, 
(C.  rigida,  Good.) 

Salix  polaris,  Wahlenb.,  and  two 
other  species  undetermined. 

Polygonum  Bistorta,  L. 

Rumex  crispus,  L. 

Cerastium  alpinum,  L.,  var.  Behr- 
ingianum,  Regel. 

Silene  acaulis,  L. 

Arenaria  verna,  L.,  var.  rubella, 
Hook.  f. 

Arcnaria  arctica,  Stev. 

Stellaria  longipes,  Goldie. 

Anemone  narcissiflora,  L. 
"          multifida,  Poir. 
"          parviflora,  Michx. 
"         parviflora,  Michz.,  va 
riety. 

Ranunculus  affinis,  R.  Br. 

Caliha  asarifolia,  DC. 


Papaver  nudicaule,  L. 

Draba   stellata,  Jacq.,   var.    nivalia, 

Regel. 

Draba  incana,  L. 
Cardamine  pratensis,  L. 
Cheiranthus  pygmceus,  Adams. 
Pedicularis  capitata,  Adams. 
Geum  glaciale,  Fisch. 
Nardosmia  corymbosa,  Hook. 
Erigeron  Muirii,  Gray,  n.  sp. 
Parrya  nudicaulis,  (Boiss.),  Regel, 

var.  aspera,  Regel. 
Boykinia  Richardsoni,  Gray. 
Saxifraga  tricuspidata,  Retz. 

cernua,  L. 

flagellaris,  Willd. 

davurica,  Willd. 

punctata,  L. 

nivalis,  L. 
Dryas  octopetala,  L. 
Potentilla  biflora,  Willd. 

ninea,  L. 

Hedysarum  boreale,  Nutt. 
Oxytropis  podocarpa,  Gray. 
Epilobium  latifolium,  L. 
Cassiope  tetragone,  (D.  Don.),  Desv. 


290 


APPENDIX 

Vaccinium  uliginosum,  L.,  var.  Myosotia    syhotica,    var.    alpestris, 

mucronata,  Herder.  HoSm. 

Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L.  Eritrichium    nanum,    Schrad.,    var. 

Dodecatheon    Meadia,    L.,    var.  arctioides. 

frigidum,  Gray.  Taraxacum  palustre,  DC. 

Androsace  chamcejasme,  Willd.  Senecio  frigidus,  Less. 

Phlox  sibirica,  L.  Artemisia  glomerata,  Ledeb. 

Polemonium  humile,  Willd.  tomentosa          [tomentella, 

"            cctruleum,  L.  Trautv.?J 


CAPE  PRINCE  OF  WALES 

At  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  we  obtained:  — 

Tofiddia  coccinea,  Richards.  Armeria  arctica,  (Wallr.),  Stev. 

Loiseleuria  procumbens,  Desv.  Androsace  chamcejasme,  Willd. 

Andromeda  polifolia,  L.,  forma          Taraxacum  palustre,  DC. 

arctica. 
Vaccinium  Vitis-Idcea,  L. 


TWENTY  MILES  EAST  OF  CAPE  LISBURNE 

Lychnis  apetala,  L.  Oxytropis  campestris,  DC. 

Anemone  narcissiflora,  L.,  var.  Primula  borealis,  Duby. 

Draba  hirta,  L.  Androsace  chamcejasme,  Willd. 

Saxifraga  Eschscholtzii,  Sternb.  Phlox  sibirica,  L. 

"          flagellaris,  Willd.  Geum  glaciale,  Fisch. 

Chrysosplenium  alternifolium,  L.  Erigeron  uniflorus,  L. 

Potentilla  nivea,  L.  Artemisia  glomerata,  Ledeb. 
biflora,  WiUd. 


CAPE  WANKAREM,  SIBERIA 

Near  Cape  Wankarem,  August  7  and  8,  we  col 
lected: — 

Elymus  arenarius,  L.  Saxifraga  cernua,  L. 

Alopecurus  alpinus,  Sm.  stellaris,  L.,  var.  comosa. 

Poa  arctica,  R.  Br.  "           rivularis,  L.,  var.    hyper- 

Calamagrostis  deschampsioides,  Trin.  borea,  Hook. 

Luzulu  hyperborea,  R.  Br.  Polemonium,  caruleum,  L. 

"        spicata,  (DC.),  Deav.  Pedicularis  Langsdorffi,  Fisch. 

Lychnis  apetala,  L.  Nardosmia  frigida.  Hook. 

Claytonia  virginica,  L.  Chrysanthemum  arcticum,  L. 

Ranunculus  pygmoius,  Wahlenb.  Senecio  frigidus.  Less. 

Chrysosplenium  alternifolium,  L.  Artemisia     vulgaris,     var.     Tilesii, 

Ledeb. 

291 


APPENDIX 

PLOVER  BAY,  SIBERIA 

The  mountains  bounding  the  glacial  fiord  called 
Plover  Bay,  though  beautiful  in  their  combinations 
of  curves  and  peaks  as  they  are  seen  touching  each 
other  delicately  and  rising  in  bold,  picturesque 
groups,  are  nevertheless  severely  desolate-looking 
from  the  absence  of  trees  and  large  shrubs,  and 
indeed  of  vegetation  of  any  kind  dense  enough  to 
give  color  in  telling  quantities,  or  to  soften  the 
harsh  rockiness  of  the  steepest  portions  of  the  walls. 
Even  the  valleys  opening  back  from  the  water  here 
and  there  on  either  side  are  mostly  bare  as  seen  at 
a  distance  of  a  mile  or  two,  and  show  only  a  faint 
tinge  of  green,  derived  from  dwarf  willows,  heath- 
worts,  and  sedges  chiefly. 

The  most  interesting  of  the  plants  found  here  are 
Rhododendron  kamtschaticum,  Pall.,  and  the  hand 
some  blue-flowered  Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  L.,  both 
of  which  are  abundant. 

The  following  were  collected  July  12  and  Au 
gust  26:  — 

Arenaria  macrocarpa,  Pursh.  Dryaf  octopetala,  L. 
Aconitum  Napellua,  L.,  var.  delphini-  Oxytropit  podocarpa,  Gray. 

folium,  Ser.  Rhododendron  kamtschaticum.  Pall. 

Anemone  narcissiflora,  L.  Cassiope  tetragona,  (D.  Don.),  Desv. 

Draba  alpina,  L.  Diapensia  lapponica,  L. 

Parrya  Ermanni,  Ledeb.  Gentiana  glauca,  Pall. 

Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  L.  Geum  glaciale,  Fisch. 
"           punctata,  L. 
ccespitosa,  L. 


HERALD  ISLAND 

On  Herald  Island  the  common  polar  cryptoga- 
mous  vegetation  is  well  represented  and  developed. 
So  also  are  the  flowering  plants,  almost  the  entire 
292 


APPENDIX 

surface  of  the  island,  with  the  exception  of  the  sheer, 
crumbling  bluffs  along  the  shores,  being  quite  tell 
ingly  dotted  and  tufted  with  characteristic  species. 
The  following  list x  was  obtained:  — 

Gymnandra   Stelleri,  Cham.   &  Saxifraga    sileniflora,    (Hook.), 

Schlecht.  Sternb. 

Alopecurus  alpinus,  Sm.  Saxifraga  bronchialis,  L. 
Luzula  hyperbarea,  R.  Br.  stcllaris,  L.,  var.,  comosa, 

Salix  polaris,  Wahlenb.  Poir. 

Stellaria   longipes,    Goldie,   var.  Saxifraga  rivularis,  L.,  var.  hyper- 

Edwardsii,  T.  &  G.  borea,  Hook. 

Papaver  nudicaule,  L.  Saxifraga  hieracifolia,  Waldst.  & 
Draba  alpina,  L.  Kit. 

Saxifraga  punctata,  L.  Potentitta  frigida,  Vill.T 

terpyllifolia,  Pursh.  Senecio  frigidus,  Less. 

WRANGELL  LAND 

Our  stay  on  the  one  point  of  Wrangell  Land  that 
we  touched  was  far  too  short  to  admit  of  making 
anything  like  as  full  a  collection  of  the  plants  of 
so  interesting  a  region  as  was  desirable.  We  found 
the  rock  formation  where  we  landed  and  for  some 
distance  along  the  coast  to  the  eastward  and 
westward  to  be  a  close-grained  clay  slate,  cleaving 
freely  into  thin  flakes,  with  here  and  there  a  few 
compact,  metamorphic  masses  that  rise  above  the 
general  surface.  Where  it  is  exposed  along  the  shore 
bluffs  and  kept  bare  of  vegetation  and  soil  by  the 
action  of  the  ocean,  ice,  and  heavy  snow-drifts,  the 
rock  presents  a  surface  about  as  black  as  coal,  with 
out  even  a  moss  or  lichen  to  enliven  its  somber 
gloom.  But  when  this  dreary  barrier  is  passed  the 
surface  features  of  the  country  in  general  are  found 

1  Berthold  Seemann,  botanist  of  H.M.S.  Herald  in  1849,  reported  the 
finding  of  eight  plants  on  a  width  of  thirty  feet  of  shore,  which,  he  says, 
"was  the  whole  extent  we  had  to  walk  over."  The  plants  were  the  fol 
lowing:  Artemisia  borealis,  Cochleria  fenestrata,  Saxifraga  lamentiniana, 
Poa  arctica,  and  another  undetermined  grass,  Hepatica,  a  moss,  and  red 
lichen  covering  the  rocks.  [EDITOR.] 

293 


APPENDIX 

to  be  finely  moulded  and  collocated,  smooth  valleys, 
wide  as  compared  with  their  depth,  trending  back 
from  the  shore  to  a  range  of  mountains  that  appear 
blue  in  the  distance,  and  round-topped  hills,  with 
their  side  curves  finely  drawn,  touching  and  blending 
in  beautiful  groups,  while  scarce  a  single  rock-pile 
is  seen  or  sheer-walled  bluff  to  break  the  general 
smoothness. 

The  soil  has  evidently  been  derived  mostly  from 
the  underlying  slates,  though  a  few  fragmentary 
wasting  moraines  were  observed,  containing  trav 
eled  boulders  of  quartz  and  granite  which  doubt 
less  were  brought  from  the  mountains  of  the  in 
terior  by  glaciers  that  have  recently  vanished  —  so 
recently  that  the  outlines  and  sculptured  hollows 
and  grooves  of  the  mountains  have  not  as  yet  suf 
fered  sufficient  post-glacial  denudation  to  mar  ap 
preciably  their  glacial  characters. 

The  banks  of  the  river  at  the  mouth  of  which  we 
landed  presented  a  striking  contrast  as  to  vege 
tation  to  that  of  any  other  stream  we  had  seen  in 
the  Arctic  regions.  The  tundra  vegetation  was  not 
wholly  absent,  but  the  mosses  and  lichens  of  which 
it  is  elsewhere  composed  are  about  as  feebly  de 
veloped  as  possible,  and  instead  of  forming  a  con 
tinuous  covering  they  occur  in  small  separate  tufts, 
leaving  the  ground  between  them  raw  and  bare  as 
that  of  a  newly  ploughed  field.  The  phanerogamous 
plants,  both  on  the  lowest  grounds  and  on  the  slopes 
and  hilltops  as  far  as  seen,  were  in  the  same  severely 
repressed  condition,  and  as  sparsely  planted  in  tufts 
an  inch  or  two  in  diameter,  with  from  one  to  three 
feet  of  naked  soil  between  them.  Some  portions 
of  the  coast,  however,  farther  south,  presented  a 
294 


APPENDIX 


greenish  hue  as  seen  from  the  ship  at  a  distance  of 
eight  or  ten  miles,  owing  no  doubt  to  vegetation 
growing  under  less  unfavorable  conditions. 

From  an  area  of  about  half  a  square  mile  the  fol 
lowing  plants  were  collected :  — 


Gymnandra   Stetteri,    Cham.    & 

Schlecht. 

Poo.  arctica,  R.  Br. 
Aira  ccespitosa,  L.,  var.  arctica. 
Alopecurus  alpinus,  Sm. 
Luzula  hyperborea,  R.  Br. 
Stellaria  longipes,    Goldie,    var. 

Edwardsii,  T.  &  G. 
Cerastium  alpinum,  L. 
Anemone  parviflora,  Michx. 
Papaver  nudicaule,  L. 
Draba  alpina,  L. 
Cochlearia  officinalis,  L. 
Saxifraga  flagellaris,  Willd. 


Saxifraga   stettaris,  L.,  var.  comosa, 
Poir. 

Saxifraga     sileniflora,          (Hook.), 
Sternb. 

Saxifraga,    hieracifolia,    Waldst.    & 
•Kit. 

Saxifraga  rivularis,  L.,  var.  hyper 
borea.  Hook. 

Saxifraga  bronchialis,  L. 

"          serpyllifolia,  Pursh. 

Potentitta  nivea,  L. 

frigida,  Vill.?  » 

Armeria  macrocarpa,  Pursh. 
vulgaris,  Willd. 

Artemisia  borealis,  (Pall.),  Willd. 

Nardosmia  frigida,  Hook. 

Saussurea  monticola,  Richards. 


1  "  Potentitta  emarginata,  Pursh.  A  very  dwarf  form  of  this  species  from 
Wrangell  Land  was  inadvertently  named  Potentitta  frigida  in  the  list  of 
Muir's  collection."  (Note  by  Asa  Gray  in  House  Executive  Document 
No.  44  (1884-85),  p.  191.)  [EDITOR.] 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Akutan,  island  and  mountain, 
251  and  note. 

Akutan  Pass,  4,  5. 

Alaska  Commercial  Company, 
13,  14,  19^22,  88,  125. 

Alaska  Mining  Company, 
249. 

Aleutian  Islands,  5;  geology 
of,  7-9,  262-67;  animal  life, 
10,  11;  plant  life,  11,  12; 
trees,  12;  grazing  and  agri 
culture,  13;  population, 
13,  14. 

Aleuts,  fuel,  13,  15;  civiliza 
tion,  13;  hunting,  14, 19-22; 
death-rate,  14;  huts,  14,  15, 
250;  intoxicating  drink,  15, 
16,  20;  thriftlessness,  16; 
religion,  18;  drunkenness, 
250;  dancing,  251. 

Alexey,  124  note. 

Anadir  Gulf,  25. 

Aneguin,  124  note. 

Asia,  land  communication 
with  America,  72. 

Barabaras,  14, 15. 

Bear,  polar,   170,  171,  174- 

80,  185,  192. 
Beluga,  147-49. 
Belvedere,  the  whaler,  157- 

59,  200,  215. 
Bering  Sea,  cruise  in,  19- 

39,  55-133,    215-39,    242- 

49;  a  glacial  excavation,  57, 

279,  280. 

Bering  Strait,  39, 57,  279,  280. 
Birds,  of  the  Aleutian  Islands, 

10,  11;  a  small  bird  comes 

aboard,  86;  on  the  Arctic 


Ocean,  87;  at  East  Cape, 
113;  of  the  Alaskan  tun 
dra,  126,  127;  at  Kotzebue 
Sound,  135-37;  of  Herald 
Island,  169;  of  Wrangell 
Land,  185  note,  186  note; 
of  the  Diomede  Islands,  216; 
sea-birds  as  guides  to  man, 
216;  at  Plover  Bay,  223. 

Blossom  Shoals,  154. 

Buckland  River,  123  and 
note,  247. 

Butterflies,  137. 

Canoes,  skin,  66;  at  Golofnin 

Bay,  129. 

Cape  Blossom,  134,  138. 
Cape  Espenberg,  133  note. 
Cape  Krusenstern,  138. 
Cape  Lisburne,  146, 149,  150, 

152,  158,  159,  163. 
Cape  North,  276. 
Cape  Onman,  102. 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  131- 

33, 146;  glaciation,  275, 278; 

flora,  291. 
Cape   Serdzekamen,   33,  39, 

40;  glaciation,  277. 
Cape     Thompson,     143-46; 

flora,  290,  291. 
Cape  Wankarem,  102,   103, 

179,   180;  glaciation,  276; 

flora,  291. 
Cape  Yakan,  106. 
Caribou.  See  Reindeer. 
Chamisso  Island,  244. 
Chukchi  Joe,  33-36,  40-42, 

46,  50,  61,  llSyl?,  119. 
Chukchis,    smoking,    31;    of 

Marcus  Bay,  32-36;  story 


299 


INDEX 


of  the  loss  of  the  Vigilant, 
33,  37;  huts,  34,  35,  44,  45, 
110,  111,  227,  228;  touches 
of  nature,  35,  36;  of  St. 
Lawrence  Bay,  36-38,  57- 
66;  trading,  37,  59,  238; 
dignity  and  fortitude  in 
hunger,  37,  38;  at  Tapkan, 
40-46;  manners  and  cus 
toms,  45,  46;  dog-driver 
aboard  the  Corwin,  49,  50, 
109;  temperance  talk,  58; 
dress  and  habits,  60,  61; 
sensitive  to  ridicule,  62; 
a  reindeer-owner,  62-64, 
97;  women  and  children, 
63;  eating  whale  skin,  63, 
64;  passenger  on  the  Cor 
win,  65,  70,  74,  97-99;  of 
Plover  Bay,  80,  223-35; 
a  half-breed  girl,  80,  81; 
about  Metchigme  Bay,  97- 
99;  a  case  of  insanity,  97- 
99;  photographed,  99;  at 
Cape  Wankarem,  103-08; 
story  of  finding  a  wrecked 
whaler,  103-06;  nine  set 
tlements,  107;  kindness, 
107,  108;  at  East  Cape, 
109-13;  cemeteries,  112, 
114:  at  Cape  Chaplin,  116; 
traders  from  Cape  Yakdn, 
133;  and  Wrangell  Land, 
186-88;  reindeer-herders  at 
Plover  Bay,  223-735;  psy 
chology  and  physical  char 
acteristics,  228,  229. 

Church,  Russian,  17,  18. 

Coal,  151,  159,  160,  163,  214, 
215. 

Cod,  5. 

Colville  River,  123  and  note, 
220. 

Cook's  Harbor,  5. 

Coral,  the  bark,  200,  208. 

Corwin,  Thomas,  U.S.S., 
broken  rudder,  48,  49;  in 


a  gale,  59;  loses  ice-breaker, 
241;  rudder  chain  parts, 
242. 

Daniel  Webster,  the  whaler, 

158,  163,  200-08. 
De  Long,  Commander  George 

W.,  quoted,  193. 
Diomede  Islands,  38,  39,  53, 

72,  100,  115,  215,  216,  236- 

39;  glaciation,  269. 
Dog-teams,   41-43;   drawing 

canoes,  160,  161. 
Dogs,  of  the  Chukchis,  41- 

43,  45,  49,  51,  52. 
Duck,  eider,  55,  135,  136. 
Dutch  Harbor,  6  and  note. 

East  Cape,  54;  glaciation  at, 
100,  101,  275,  276;  landing 
at,  109-15. 

Elephant  Point,  244-47. 

Empetrum,  15. 

Eschscholtz  Bay,  244-48, 288. 

Eskimos,  on  St.  Lawrence 
Island,  26-31,  60,  74-77, 
118,  119;  trading,  26-28, 
38,  74-76,  237,  238;  and 
rum,  26,  27,  31;  appear 
ance  and  manners,  28-30; 
clothing,  28-30,  60;  smok 
ing,  30,  31;  taken  aboard, 
32;  on  Diomede  Islands, 
38,  39,  236-39;  villages 
and  huts,  38,  39,  134,  135, 
237;  babies,  75-77;  eating 
walrus  heads,  76;  boys,  77; 
mortality,  94,  118-22;  of 
King  Island,  131,  132;  win 
ter  and  summer  huts  on 
King  Island,  131,  132; 
King  Island  canoes,  131, 
132;  at  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales,  132,  133;  contra 
band  trade  with,  133,  134; 
at  Kotzebue  Sound,  134, 
135,  138,  139,  141^3;  at 


300 


INDEX 


Point  Hope,  143,  144;  lull 
ing  beluga,  147-49;  killing 
right  whales,  149;  near  Icy 
Cape,  152,  154,  156,  157; 
near  Cape  Lisburne,  159- 
61;  canoes  drawn  by  dogs, 
160,  161;  hunting  polar 
bears,  176,  177;  decoration 
of  grave,  177;  at  Point 
Barrow,  202,  204-06,  219, 
220;  as  wreckers,  204-06; 
at  Point  Belcher,  207. 

Fairway  Rock,  39  note,  131, 
215,  216;  glaciation,  269. 

Fish,  5. 

Flora,  281-95. 

Flowers,  of  Unalaska,  11,  12, 
282,  283;  of  Plover  Bay, 
96,  292;  at  East  Cape,  112; 
of  St.  Lawrence  Island, 
118,  285;  of  the  tundra  at 
St.  Michael,  127,  128,  286, 
287;  at  Golofnin  Bay,  130, 
287,  288;  at  Kotzebue 
Sound,  137,  288,  289;  at 
Cape  Thompson,  145,  290, 
291;  at  Icy  Cape,  154;  on 
Herald  Island,  169,292,293; 
of  Wrangell  Land,  186, 294, 
295.  See  also  Flora. 

Fossils,  137,  160,  244,  245. 

Fowler,  O.  S.,  the  schooner, 
133  and  note,  138. 

Fox,  white,  170  and  note,  185. 

Francis  Palmer,  the  whaler, 
59. 

Fur  trade,  Aleutian  Islands, 
13,  14,  16,  17;  Pribilof 
Islands,  19-22;  Yukon 
River,  89,  90,  124,  125. 

Geese,  wild,  135,  136. 
Gessler,   Coxswain,    50   and 

note. 
Glaciation,  on  Unalaska,  6-9; 

in    the  Pribilofs,  23,  267, 


268;  on  the  Siberian  Coast, 
26,  54,  67,  68,  85,  100,  272- 
77;  on  the  Diomede  Is 
lands,  53,  269;  at  St.  Law 
rence  Bay,  57;  in  Bering 
Sea  and  Strait,  57;  on  St. 
Lawrence  Island,  80,  93, 
117,  118,  268,  269;  at 
Plover  Bay,  82,  85,  95,  96, 
224,  273,  274;  at  Met- 
chigme  Bay,  100;  about 
East  Cape,  100,  101,  110- 
13,  275,  276;  at  Golofnin 
Bay,  129,  130,  275,  278; 
at  Sledge  Island,  130,  270; 
at  Cape  Thompson,  146; 
near  Cape  Lisburne,  149, 
150;  on  Herald  Island,  166- 
68,  270,  271;  of  the  Arc- 
'  tic  and  Sub- Arctic  regions 
visited  during  the  cruise. 
255-80. 

Glaciers,  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  9,  251,  252,  263- 
67;  of  Plover  Bay,  95,  96; 
fossil  fragments,  244-47; 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  256, 
257;  of  British  Columbia 
and  southeastern  Alaska, 

257,  258;  reaching  the  sea, 

258,  259. 

Gold,  125,  249,  250. 
Golden  Fleece,  the  schooner, 

218    222 
Golofnin    Bay,   129-31,  249, 

250;  glaciation,  275,  278; 

flora,  287,  288. 
Gull,  burgomaster,  136. 
Gulls,  218. 

Handy,  R.  B.,  the  schooner, 
155. 

Helen  Mar,  the  whaler,  53. 

Herald  Island,  162-72,  193, 
194,  241;  glaciation,  270, 
271;  flora,  292,  293. 

Herring,  91. 


301 


INDEX 


Herring,  Lieut.,  50;  his  report 
of  search  for  the  Vigilant, 
102-06. 

Hidalgo,  the  whaler,  59,  60, 
144. 

"Hole,  the,"  172. 

Hooper,  Capt.  Calvin  L.,  27, 
35,  40,  50,  58,  61,  63,  75, 
119,  138,  155,  168,  170, 
189,  242;  quoted,  83,  84, 
165  note,  166  note. 

Hotham  Inlet,  138. 

Hutli,  258  and  note. 

Ice,  crystals  on  rocks,  114, 
115;  curious  formations, 
244-48. 

Ice,  ocean,  first  view,  23. 

Ice,  pack,  the  Corwin  in,  47- 
52,  78,  79,  83,  84,  152,  153, 
162,  164,  173,  178-83; 
search  party  on,  101,  102. 

Ice,  shore,  rough  travel  over, 
40-42. 

Ice-blink,  151. 

Icy  Cape,  151-54,  163,  200. 

Iliuliuk,  6  and  note,  14,  15. 
See  also  Unalaska. 

Indians,  of  the  Yukon  coun 
try,  90,  91;  shamans  at 
St.  Michael,  124;  kayaks, 
128;  at  Golofnin  Bay,  129; 
canoes,  129;  trading  at 
Kotzebue  Sound,  141,  142. 

Inland  River,  123,  220. 

International  Polar  Expedi 
tion,  218-22. 

Ivory,  fossil,  137. 

Jaroochah,  36,  37,  57-59,  61- 

64. 
Jeannette,  U.S.S.,  107,  124, 

171,  185,  189. 
Joe.  See  Chukchi  Joe. 


Kalekta  Point,  6. 
Kayaks,  128. 


Kellett,  Sir  Henry,  270. 

Kelly,  Capt.,  85- 

King  Island,  131,  132,  270. 

Kittiwake,  162. 

Kiwalik  River,  134,  135. 

Koliuchin,  107. 

Koliuchin  Island,  49,  50. 

Konkarpo,  103. 

Kotzebue  Sound,  134-37, 244- 

48;   glaciation,    275,    278; 

flora,  288,  289. 
Kuuk  River,  248  and  note. 
Kvass,  15,  16,  20. 

Le  Conte  Glacier,  258  note. 
Lolita,  the  ship,  73,  74,  79. 

Makushin,  volcano,  251,  252, 

263  and  note. 
Marcus   Bay,   32,    115,    116, 

119,  236. 

Metchigme  Bay,  97-100. 
Millard,  Capt.  M.  V.  B.,  82 

note,  84,  85. 
Mirage,  88,  155,  158. 
Mt.  Akutan,  251  and  note. 
Mt.  Makushin,  251,  252,  263 

and  note. 
Mt.  Rainier,  257. 
Mt.  Shasta,  257. 
Mount  Wollaston,  the  whaler, 

102. 

Muir  Glacier,  259. 
Murdoch,  John,  207  note,  218 

note,  220  note. 
Murres,  169. 

Nelson,  Edward  W.,  99,  128, 
170,  189,  223;  ethnological 
studies,  110-13,  119,  121, 
132,  134,  135,  154;  his 
account  of  the  foxes  of 
Herald  Island,  170  note. 

Nestor,  Bishop,  18. 

Noatak  River,  123  note. 

Northern  Light,  the  bark, 
155-57. 


302 


INDEX 


Norton  Sound,  23,  24;  mirage 
in,  88. 

Omniscot,  Chukchi  reindeer- 
owner,  62-64,  97-99. 
Oncarima,  103. 
Otter,  sea,  10,  13,  14,  22. 
Otter  Island,  23. 
Owen,  Capt.,  157,  200. 
Owl,  an  Arctic,  113. 

Pittle  Keg,  106  and  note. 
Plover  Bay,  32,  80-85,  95,  96, 

218,   242;   glaciation,   273, 

274;  flora,  292. 
Point  Barrow,  202,   212-14, 

219;    International    Polar 

Expedition  to,  218-22. 
Point  Belcher,  158,  201,  207, 

209-12. 

Point  Hope,  143,  144,  161. 
Pope,   Thomas,   the  whaler, 

82-84. 

Post-Office  Point,  162,  172. 
Pribilof   Islands,  19-23,  267, 

268. 

Priest,  a  Russian,  17. 
Prospectors,    125,    130,   248- 

50. 

Providence  Bay,  82  note. 
Ptarmigan,  126,  127. 

Rainbow,  the  whaler,  32. 
Ray,  Lieut.  P.  H.,  218  and 

note,  220,  221. 
Reindeer,  owned  by  Chukchis, 

62,  140,  141,  223-35;  wild 

herds   in   Alaska,    139-41; 

wild  herds  in  Siberia,  224. 
Reynolds,  Lieut.,  50, 133, 134. 
Rodgers,  U.S.S.,  242,  243  and 

note. 
Rosse,  Dr.  Irving  C.,  82, 126. 

St.  George  Island,  19-23. 
St.  Lawrence  Bay,  36-38;  at 
anchor  in,  56-66. 


St.  Lawrence  Island,  26-31, 
33,  38,  70-80,  93-95;  de 
scriptions,  117-19;  dead 
villages  on,  118-22',  glacia 
tion,  268,  269;  flora,  285. 

St.  Matthew  Island,  25. 

St.  Michael,  85,  88-92,  123- 
29,  248,  249;  flora,  286, 
287. 

St.  Paul,  island  and  village  of, 
19-23. 

St.  Paul,  the  steamer,  121, 
123 

Salmon,  91,  128. 

San  Francisco  Bulletin,  83, 
84  note. 

Sappho,  the  whaler,  157. 

Sea  Breeze,  the  whaling  bark, 
143,  157,  193. 

Seal,  a  large,  54. 

Seal,  fur,  industry,  16, 17, 19- 
22;  habits,  20,  21. 

Seal,  saddle-back,  25. 

Seal,  white,  24. 

Shamanism,  18. 

Sheshalek,  138. 

Shumagin  Islands,  23. 

Siberia,  first  sight,  26;  ex 
ploring  coast  of,  32  et  seq. 

Sierra  Nevada,  glaciers,  256, 
257. 

Sinaru,  201  note. 

Sledge  Island,  130,  270. 

Spermophile,  185  and  note. 

Spring,  beginning  of,  79. 

Starbuck,  Alexander,  208. 

Sun,  atmospheric  effects,  159, 
161;  midnight,  216,  217. 

Sunarnara,  201. 

Tapkan,  42-46, 100-02, 109. 
Temperature,     of     air     and 

water,  87,  88,  92. 
Thomas   Pope,    the    whaler, 

82-84. 

Trees,  284,  287. 
Tundra,  126-28. 


303 


INDEX 


Unalaska,  arrival  at,  3-6; 
animal  and  plant  life,  10- 
12;  trees,  12;  grazing  and 
agriculture,  13;  population, 
13;  the  priest's  house,  17; 
the  Russian  Church,  18; 
stay  at,  on  return  trip,  250, 
251;  flora,  282-84. 

Unga  Island,  23. 

Vega,  the  ship,  44,  106. 

Vigilant,  the  whaler,  33,  37; 
report  of  party  in  search  of, 
102-08. 

Volcanoes  and  volcanic  re 
mains,  in  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  7,  9,  251,  252;  on 
St.  Lawrence  Island,  118; 
near  St.  Michael,  126;  at 
Kotzebue  Sound,  137. 

Walrus,  68,  69,  73,  74,  76, 153, 

155,  156,  158. 
Weather,  85,  86. 
Western  Fur  and  Trading 

Company,  14,  22;   station 

near   St.  Michael,   89,   90, 

123,  125. 
Whale,  bowhead,  209. 


Whale,  white,  147-49. 

Whalers,  lost  in  the  ice,  203- 
12. 

Whales,  eaten  by  Chukchis, 
63,  64;  hunted  by  the  na 
tives,  64,  70,  149;  and  the 
whalers,  157. 

Whaling,  208,  209. 

Wrangell,  Baron  Ferdinand 
Petrovitch  von,  141  note, 
186-88. 

Wrangell  Land,  107;  first 
sight  of,  168, 169;  approach 
ing,  171-83;  landing  on, 
184;  exploration,  184-86, 
188-91;  Baron  Wrangell's 
search  for,  186-88;  flag 
erected  on,  189;  animal 
life,  192;  improbability  of 
De  Long's  having  landed 
upon,  193-96;  reasons  for 
leaving,  196-99;  failure  to 
land  on  second  visit,  239- 
42;  the  Rodgers  at,  243 
and  note;  geology,  271, 272, 
293,  294;  flora,  293-95. 

Yukon  River,  fur  trade  of, 
89,  90. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U    .    S    .    A 


9 


vr.         -ay 


5    =5 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


061985 


%  CT  1 5  1991 


tt 

&AHVH8IH 

3AE-UNIVEBJ 


7133NY-SOV 


a   2    S 


3  1158  01030  8319 


AA    000  751  603    2 


I 

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